Backscattering of light from disk-like particles with aperiodic angular fine structure.
Recent computations of the backscattering cross section (sigmab) of randomly-oriented disk-like particles (refractive index, 1.20) with small-scale periodic angular internal structure, have been repeated for similarly sized particles, but with the periodic structure replaced by an aperiodic structure. The latter is formed by randomly perturbing a periodic structure. Although sigmab for individual realizations of an aperiodic disk can differ significantly from that of its periodic counterpart, averaging over several realizations brings the two into confluence, unless the aperiodicity is too large. These computations suggest that using disks with perfectly periodic (as opposed to quasi-periodic) fine structure for modeling the backscattering of detached coccoliths from E. Huxleyi is justified.
Gordon
Howard R
HR