LIGHT-SCATTERING IN AN OPTICALLY ANISOTROPIC MEDIUM

The effect of optical anisotropy of the medium on the propagation of incident and scattered light is derived from Maxwell's equations. Although the emphasis is on uniaxial nonabsorbing media, formulas for arbitrary anisotropy are presented that are valid for biaxial, absorbing, and gyrotropic (optically active) media, as well. For the case of single scattering the contributions from ordinary and extraordinary incoming and scattering waves are given. An estimate of the typical error introduced by disregard of the anisotropy of the medium is given.