The scattering matrix for size distributions of irregular particles: An application to an olivine sample

We have compared simulated and measured scattering matrices of a size distribution of olivine particles at wavelengths of 633 and 442 nm. The computations were carried out for size distributions of irregularly-shaped compact particles with different average projected areas using the discrete-dipole approximation (DDA). The results of the comparison show that the model of irregularly-shaped particles mimic the observations far better than the results given by spheres, spheroids or rectangular prisms having a wide range in aspect ratios. The computed scattering matrices for size distributions of irregularly-shaped particles do not depend very strongly on the precise particle shape assumed, providing a method to infer certain physical properties of an ensemble of natural dust particles, such as the refractive index, when some information on the sample, as the size distribution, is known a priori.