A NEW SOLUTION OF THE LIGHT SCATTERING PROBLEM FOR AXISYMMETRIC PARTICLES        }

          VICTOR G. FARAFONOV, VLADIMIR B. IL'IN, and THOMAS HENNING


Abstract.-- A new approach to solve the problem of light scattering by
particles with an axial symmetry is suggested. We divide the electromagnetic
fields in two parts (an axisymmetric part having no dependence on the
azimuthal angle and a non-axisymmetric part whose averaging over this angle
gives zero) and consider the scattering problem separately for each of the
two parts. Another feature of our approach is the special choice of the
scalar potentials. The potentials connected with the azimuthal components of
the electromagnetic fields are used for the axisymmetric parts of these fields,
and a superposition of the Debye potentials and the vertical components of
the Hertz vector is utilized for the non-axisymmetric parts. The scattering
problem is formulated in the form of integral equations. The scalar potentials
are expanded in terms of the spherical wave-functions, and the expansion
coefficients are determined from a solution of the infinite systems of linear
algebraic equations. A numerical code based on the approach is developed,
and test results obtained for spheroids are presented.