Scattering by large bubbles: Comparisons between geometrical-optics theory and Debye series

The scattering patterns and optical properties of large spherical bubbles in water are calculated by both Geometrical-optics theory and Debye-series expansion of the Mie amplitudes. In the Geometrical-optics calculations, the wave-front spreading factor and phase information are all taken into consideration. A detailed comparison between the two methods is presented. It is found that scattering patterns calculated from the Geometrical-optics approach agree reasonably with those obtained by Debye series when the size parameter is larger than approximately 400. In the case of scattering properties, the Geometrical-optics method can produce reliable results with the Debye expansion for size parameters larger than approximately 50. The Geometrical-optics results without the phase interferences are also reliable, but it cannot display the oscillations and the ripple structure as a function of size parameter.