Approximations of the scattering phase functions of particles

Based on anomalous diffraction theory and the modified Rayleigh-Debye approximation, a physically realistic model in bridging form is described to approximate the scattering phase function of particles. When compared with the exact method, the bridging technique reported here provides a reasonable approximation to the Mie results over a broader range of angles and size parameters, and it demonstrates the advantage of being computationally economic. In addition, the new phase function model can be essentially extended to other shapes and conveniently used in more complicated scattering and emission problems related to the solutions of the radiative transfer equations.