Transfer of polarized radiation: Nonlinear integral equations for I-matrices in the general case and for resonance scattering in a weak magnetic field

General equations of the Wiener-Hopf type for a matrix source function with nonsymmetrical kernel matrices are considered in the form of continuous superpositions of exponentials. Certain problems in the transfer of polarized radiation reduce to equations of this kind. In general there are two different II-matrices in the theory (which are a generalization of the Ambartsumian-Chandrasekhar scalar H-function), generated by an initial equation of the Wiener-Hopf type and its analog, but with the kernel matrix and the unknown matrix of the source function being transposed. In addition there are two corresponding I-matrices, actually consisting of Laplace transforms of the matrix source functions, through which the Stokes vector of the escaping radiation is directly determined. In the problem of diffuse reflection from a half-space, the I-matrices are expressed in terms of a product of these two II-matrices, and for the latter there is a system of nonlinear equations which is a generalization of the corresponding Ambartsumian-Chandrasekhar scalar equation. In the problem of the emission of partially polarized radiation from a half-space containing uniformly distributed internal sources we have obtained a system of two nonlinear equations for the I-matrices directly. In the special case of a symmetrical kernel matrix, this system of two equations reduces to one equation. It is shown that in the case of resonance scattering in a weak magnetic field (the Hanle effect) in the approximation of complete frequency redistribution, the system of two nonlinear equations for the I-matrices (of dimension 6x6) also reduces to one nonlinear equation, although the kernel matrix for the main integral equation for the matrix source function Ŝ(τ) is not symmetrical. For this case we have found a matrix generalization of the so-called "√ε law," consisting of an equation of the type Ŝ(0)ÂŜT(0) = B̂ (where T denotes transposition) at the boundary of a half-space containing uniformly distributed primary sources of partially polarized radiation. ©2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation.