Spectral polarimetric light-scattering by particulate media: 1. Theory of spectral Vector Radiative Transfer

•A vector raditive transfer model for spectral polarimetric light-scattering by particulate media with multiple scattering.•An analysis to highlight the dependence of the spectral polarimetric light-scattering signatures upon the microphysical properties: particle size, optical index, and volume fraction.•Extraction of remarkable spectral and directional features directly related to the microphysical properties of the particulate media.

Spectral polarimetric light-scattering by particulate media has recently attracted growing interests for various applications due to the production of directional broadband light sources. Here the spectral polarimetric light-scattering signatures of particulate media are simulated using a numerical model based on the spectral Vector Radiative Transfer Equation (VRTE). A microphysical analysis is conducted to understand the dependence of the light-scattering signatures upon the microphysical parameters of particles. We reveal that depolarization from multiple scattering results in remarkable spectral and directional features, which are simulated by our model over a wide spectral range from visible to near-infrared. We propose to use these features to improve the inversion of the scattering problem in the fields of remote sensing, astrophysics, material science, or biomedical.