title: Reflection symmetry of a sphere's internal field and its consequences on scattering: a microphysical approach.
abstract: We examine the reflection symmetries of the electromagnetic wave inside of a uniform spherical particle and identify the consequences of the symmetries for the Stokes parameters describing the polarization state of the far-field scattered wave. The connection between the two waves is described from a microphysical perspective that illustrates the wavelet-superposition origin of the scattered wave. In contrast to more conventional approaches, this microphysical perspective yields new insight into the physical character of the scattering of a plane wave by a sphere. The results of simulations are presented, which graphically demonstrate the relation between the symmetries present in the internal wave and the polarization state of the scattered wave.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Mnahattan, Kansas 66505-2601, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sorensen
authors.forename: Amitabha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti