EM propagation and backscattering discrete model for medium of sparsely distributed lossy random particles

Electromagnetic wave propagation and backscattering from a random medium are studied. The random medium is modeled by discrete lossy dielectric scatterers, for which the dyadic scattering amplitudes and orientation statistics are known. A method is developed to compute the propagation and backscattering coefficients. The technique is valid for scatterers having characteristic dimensions comparable to a wavelength. The procedure is valid when the albedo of individual scatterers is small, that is, when the scatterers are highly absorbing. Numerical calculations for the propagation and backscattering coefficients are presented, and compared with the literature.