Paper detail

Equivalence relations for Mueller matrix symmetries of laboratory, LIDAR and planetary scattering geometries

Symmetry relationships for optical observations of matter generally fall into several common scattering geometries. The 'planetary' configuration is preferred among a group of observers of extraterrestrial planets, 'laboratory' observations are performed in the biomedical research field and the LIDAR configuration is preferred among those using lasers to probe optical properties of horizontal surfaces with mirror or axial symmetry. This paper starts with the Stokes matrix formalism and uses symmetries of Mueller matrix scattering to establishes links between the mathematical symmetries of each geometric configuration.