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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

Comparisons of some scattering theories with recent scatterometer measurements

The paper compares the predictions of two different types of sea scatter theories with recent scatterometer measurements which indicate the variations of the backscattering coefficient with polarization, incident angle, wind speed, and azimuth angle. Wright's theory (1968) differs from that of Chan and Fung (1977) in two major aspects: (1) Wright uses Phillips' sea spectrum (1966) while Chan and Fung use that of Mitsuyasu and Honda, and (2) Wright uses a modified slick sea slope distribution by Cox and Munk (1954) while Chan and Fung use the slick sea slope distribution of Cox and Munk defined with respect to the plane perpendicular to the look direction. Satisfactory agreements between theory and experimental data are obtained when Chan and Fung's model is used to explain the wind and azimuthal dependence of the scattering coefficient.

Fung, A. K.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Scattering theory of frequency-entangled biphoton states facilitated by cavity polaritons

The use of quantum light to probe exciton properties in semiconductor and molecular nanostructures typically occurs in the low-intensity regime. A substantial enhancement of exciton-photon coupling can be achieved with photonic cavities, where excitons hybridize with cavity modes to form polariton states. Here, to provide a theoretical framework for interpreting emerging experimental efforts in this direction, we develop a scattering theory describing the interaction of frequency-entangled photon pairs with cavity polariton and bipolariton states under various coupling regimes. Employing the Tavis-Cummings model in combination with our scattering approach, we present a quantitative analysis of how the interaction of the entangled photon pair with the polariton or bipolariton modifies its joint spectral amplitude (JSA). Specifically, we examine the effects of the cavity-mode steady-state population, exciton-cavity coupling strength, and different forms of the input photon JSA. Our results show that the entanglement entropy of the scattered photons is highly sensitive to the interplay between the input JSA and the spectral line shapes of the polariton resonances, emphasizing the cavity filtering effects. We suggest that biphoton-scattering quantum light spectroscopy best serves as a sensitive probe of polariton and bipolariton states in the photon-vacuum cavity state. Our approach is not only robust to various regimes of cavity-exciton coupling, but also amenable to extensions beyond the Tavis-Cummings model, enabling the representation of a broad class of molecular systems and solid state quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1978

Unified connected theory of few-body reaction mechanisms in N-body scattering theory

A unified treatment of different reaction mechanisms in nonrelativistic N-body scattering is presented. The theory is based on connected kernel integral equations that are expected to become compact for reasonable constraints on the potentials. The operators T/sub +-//sup ab/(A) are approximate transition operators that describe the scattering proceeding through an arbitrary reaction mechanism A. These operators are uniquely determined by a connected kernel equation and satisfy an optical theorem consistent with the choice of reaction mechanism. Connected kernel equations relating T/sub +-//sup ab/(A) to the full T/sub +-//sup ab/ allow correction of the approximate solutions for any ignored process to any order. This theory gives a unified treatment of all few-body reaction mechanisms with the same dynamic simplicity of a model calculation, but can include complicated reaction mechanisms involving overlapping configurations where it is difficult to formulate models.

Polyzou, W. N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A numerical assessment of rough surface scattering theories. I - Horizontal polarization. II - Vertical polarization

A numerical evaluation is presented of the regime of validity for various rough surface scattering theories against numerical results obtained by employing the method of moments. The contribution of each theory is considered up to second order in the perturbation expansion for the surface current. Considering both vertical and horizontal polarizations, the unified perturbation method provides best results among all theories weighed.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1994

The organic surface of 5145 Pholus: Constraints set by scattering theory

No known body in the Solar System has a spectrum redder than that of object 5145 Pholus. We use Hapke scattering theory and optical constants measured in this laboratory to examine the ability of mixtures of a number of organic solids and ices to reproduce the observed spectrum and phase variation. The primary materials considered are poly-HCN, kerogen, Murchison organic extract, Titan tholin, ice tholin, and water ice. In a computer grid search of over 10 million models, we find an intraparticle mixture of 15% Titan tholin, 10% poly-HCN, and 75% water ice with 10-micrometers particles to provide an excellent fit. Replacing water ice with ammonia ice improves the fits significantly while using a pure hydrocarbon tholin, Tholin alpha, instead of Titan tholin makes only modest improvements. All acceptable fits require Titan tholin or some comparable material to provide the steep slope in the visible, and poly-HCN or some comparable material to provide strong absorption in the near-infrared. A pure Titan tholin surface with 16-micrometers particles, as well as all acceptable Pholus models, fit the present spectrophotometric data for the transplutonian object 1992 QB(sub 1). The feasibility of gas-phase chemistry to generate material like Titan tholin on such small objects is examined. An irradiated transient atmosphere arising from sublimating ices may generate at most a few centimeters of tholin over the lifetime of the Solar System, but this is insignificant compared to the expected lag deposit of primordial contaminants left behind by the sublimating ice. Irradiation of subsurface N2/CH4 or NH3/CH4 ice by cosmic rays may generate approximately 20 cm of tholin in the upper 10 m of regolith in the same time scale but the identity of this tholin to its gas-phase equivalent has not been demonstrated.

Wilson, Peter D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Benchmark calculations of thermal reaction rates. I - Quantal scattering theory

The thermal rate coefficient for the prototype reaction H + H2 yields H2 + H with zero total angular momentum is calculated by summing, averaging, and numerically integrating state-to-state reaction probabilities calculated by time-independent quantum-mechanical scattering theory. The results are very carefully converged with respect to all numerical parameters in order to provide high-precision benchmark results for confirming the accuracy of new methods and testing their efficiency.

Chatfield, David C.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Estimates of oceanic surface wind speed and direction using orthogonal beam scatterometer measurements and comparison of recent sea scattering theories

The wind direction properties of radar backscatter from the sea were empirically modelled using a cosine Fourier series through the 4th harmonic in wind direction (referenced to upwind). A comparison with 1975 JONSWAP (Joint North Sea Wave Project) scatterometer data, at incidence angles of 40 and 65, indicates that effects to third and fourth harmonics are negligible. Another important result is that the Fourier coefficients through the second harmonic are related to wind speed by a power law expression. A technique is also proposed to estimate the wind speed and direction over the ocean from two orthogonal scattering measurements. A comparison between two different types of sea scatter theories, one type presented by the work of Wright and the other by that of Chan and Fung, was made with recent scatterometer measurements. It demonstrates that a complete scattering model must include some provisions for the anisotropic characteristics of the sea scatter, and use a sea spectrum which depends upon wind speed.

Moore, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Transport dynamics calculated under the full Mie scattering theory for micron and submicron lunar ejecta in selenocentric, cislunar, and geocentric space

In 1967, Lunar Explorer 35 was launched from the earth and placed into a stable orbit around the moon. The data from the dust particle experiment on this spacecraft were essentially continuous over a 5-yr period from the time of insertion in lunar orbit. Analysis of this data has been interpreted to show that micron-sized lunar ejecta leave the moon and traverse through selenocentric and cislunar space and obtain either interplanetary/heliocentric orbits or intercept the earth's magnetosphere and move into geocentric orbits. Extensive studies of the orbital trajectories of lunar particles in this size range have now been conducted that include a calculation of the solar radiation force using the full Mie scattering theory. A significant flux of particles with radii less than 0.1 micron are found to intercept the earth's magnetopause surface. This flux is shown to be strongly dependent upon both the particle's density and its index of refraction.

Hyde, T. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Intermediate energy nucleon-deuteron scattering theory.

Sloan's conclusion (1969) that terms of the multiple-scattering series beyond single scattering contribute only to S- and P-wave amplitudes in an S-wave separable model is examined. A comparison of experiments with the calculation at 146 MeV shows that the conclusion is valid in nucleon-deuteron scattering applications.

Wilson, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A multiple scattering theory for EM wave propagation in a dense random medium

For a dense medium of randomly distributed scatterers an integral formulation for the total coherent field has been developed. This formulation accounts for the multiple scattering of electromagnetic waves including both the twoand three-particle terms. It is shown that under the Markovian assumption the total coherent field and the effective field have the same effective wave number. As an illustration of this theory, the effective wave number and the extinction coefficient are derived in terms of the polarizability tensor and the pair distribution function for randomly distributed small spherical scatterers. It is found that the contribution of the three-particle term increases with the particle size, the volume fraction, the frequency and the permittivity of the particle. This increase is more significant with frequency and particle size than with other parameters.

Karam, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Variational divergence in wave scattering theory with Kirchhoffean trial functions

In a recent study of variational improvement of the Kirchhoff approximation for electromagnetic scattering by rough surfaces, a key ingredient in the variational principle was found to diverge for important configurations (e.g., backscatter) if the polarization had any vertical component. The cause and a cure of this divergence are discussed here. The divergence is demonstrated to occur for arbitrary perfectly conducting scatterers and its universal characterstics are determined, by means of a general divergence criterion that is derived. A variational cure for the divergence is prescribed, and it is tested successfully on a standard scattering model.

Bird, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Dynamical basis sets for algebraic variational calculations in quantum-mechanical scattering theory

New basis sets are proposed for linear algebraic variational calculations of transition amplitudes in quantum-mechanical scattering problems. These basis sets are hybrids of those that yield the Kohn variational principle (KVP) and those that yield the generalized Newton variational principle (GNVP) when substituted in Schlessinger's stationary expression for the T operator. Trial calculations show that efficiencies almost as great as that of the GNVP and much greater than the KVP can be obtained, even for basis sets with the majority of the members independent of energy.

Sun, Yan↗
NASA NTRS1987

Hydrogen Balmer alpha intensity distributions and line profiles from multiple scattering theory using realistic geocoronal models

The H Balmer alpha nightglow is investigated by using Monte Carlo models of asymmetric geocoronal atomic hydrogen distributions as input to a radiative transfer model of solar Lyman-beta radiation in the thermosphere and atmosphere. It is shown that it is essential to include multiple scattering of Lyman-beta radiation in the interpretation of Balmer alpha airglow data. Observations of diurnal variation in the Balmer alpha airglow showing slightly greater intensities in the morning relative to evening are consistent with theory. No evidence is found for anything other than a single sinusoidal diurnal variation of exobase density. Dramatic changes in effective temperature derived from the observed Balmer alpha line profiles are expected on the basis of changing illumination conditions in the thermosphere and exosphere as different regions of the sky are scanned.

Anderson, D. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Measurement of pressure ridges in SAR images of sea ice - Preliminary results on scattering theory

Sea ice ridges and keels (hummocks and bummocks) are important in sea ice research for both scientific and practical reasons. A long-term objective is to make quantitative measurements of sea ice ridges using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The preliminary results of a scattering model for sea ice ridge are reported. The approach is through the ridge height variance spectrum Psi(K), where K is the spatial wavenumber, and the two-scale scattering model. The height spectrum model is constructed to mimic height statistics observed with an airborne optical laser. The spectrum model is used to drive a two-scale scattering model. Model results for ridges observed at C- and X-band yield normalized radar cross sections that are 10 to 15 dB larger than the observed cross sections of multiyear ice over the range of angles of incidence from 10 to 70 deg.

Vesecky, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Observation of pressure ridges in SAR images of sea ice: Scattering theory and comparison with observations

Ridges and keels (hummocks and bummocks) in sea ice flows are important in sea ice research for both scientific and practical reasons. Sea ice movement and deformation is driven by internal and external stresses on the ice. Ridges and keels play important roles in both cases because they determine the external wind and current stresses via drag coefficients. For example, the drag coefficient over sea ice can vary by a factor of several depending on the fluid mechanical roughness length of the surface. This roughness length is thought to be strongly dependent on the ridge structures present. Thus, variations in ridge and keel structure can cause gradients in external stresses which must be balanced by internal stresses and possibly fracture of the ice. Ridging in sea ice is also a sign of fracture. In a practical sense, large ridges form the biggest impediment to surface travel over the ice or penetration through sea ice by ice-strengthened ships. Ridges also play an important role in the damage caused by sea ice to off-shore structures. Hence, observation and measurement of sea ice ridges is an important component of sea ice remote sensing. The research reported here builds on previous work, estimating the characteristics of ridges and leads in sea ice from SAR images. Our objective is to develop methods for quantitative measurement of sea ice ridges from SAR images. To make further progress, in particular, to estimate ridge height, a scattering model for ridges is needed. Our research approach for a ridge scattering model begins with a survey of the geometrical properties of ridges and a comparison with the characteristics of the surrounding ice. For this purpose we have used airborne optical laser (AOL) data collected during the 1987 Greenland Sea Experiment. These data were used to generate a spatial wavenumber spectrum for height variance for a typical ridge - the typical ridge is the average over 10 large ridges. Our first-order model radar scattering includes both the quasi-specular and Bragg resonant scatter mechanisms. This model is extended to include contributions from volume scatter and scatter from discrete objects. Geometrical characteristics from the AOL survey and model calculations imply that for radar wavelengths and observation geometries that are dominated by the quasi-specular scattering mechanism radar backscatter from a ridge is a measure of peak ridge height. We present scattering model results and compare them with ridges observed during the LEADEX experiment of March-April 1992 when both X, C, and L-band aircraft SAR and the ERS-1 satellite SAR observed a region in the Beaufort Sea near 86 deg N, 10 deg W. Data were also collected documenting ridge characteristics on the surface. The surface data are used to generate a SAR signature via the scattering model described above. The predicted SAR signatures compare well with the SAR observations.

Vesecky, J. F.↗