Light scattering by fractal aggregates: A review

This paper presents a review of scattering and absorption of light by fractal aggregates. The aggregates are typically, diffusion limited cluster aggregates (DLCA) with fractal dimensions of D similar or equal to 1.75 which occur frequently in aerosols and colloids, but other types of aggregates are discussed as well. The results of the review are quite general. A scaling description of the scattering of waves forms the basis of our understanding. This description yields the optical structure factor S(q) of the aggregate, where q is the scattering wavevector, a key quantity. The rigorous approach to the structure factor, the Fourier transform of the density correlation function, is also given and various forms provided in the literature are compared and the best selected. Light scattering is directly related to the structure factor under the assumption of no internal multiple scattering. This so-called Rayleigh-Debye-Gans (RDG) approximation is compared to more rigorous electromagnetic approaches and found to be quite accurate for fractal aggregates. This results despite the presence of internal multiple scattering, which leads to depolarization, and which is also extensively described. For ensembles of aggregates, the effects of aggregate polydispersity on scattering experiments are described and methods for proper analysis are given. A description of optical particle sizing and morph ology analysis is given for a complete in situ characterization of the aggregate system. The review relies strongly on straightforward physical reasoning and experimental examples, largely from aerosols, especially those of carbonaceous soot. This paper not only reviews and consolidates, but also presents new results including a scaling analysis of multiple scattering, which leads to depolarization, with a successful comparison to available data and an understanding of structural subtleties; demonstration of the significance of a phase shift parameter for evaluating the range of validity of the RDG theory; a Maxwell-Garnet analysis of fractal aggregate scattering; calculations of the albedo and successful comparison to available simulation data; and speculations on multiple scattering and the interior field.