Backscattering by nonspherical particles: A review of methods and suggested new approaches

Scattering of electromagnetic radiation near the backward direction is more sensitive to particle shape than scattering near the forward direction. Mie theory is therefore of dubious applicability to predicting backscattering by atmospheric particles known to be irregular or to inverting measurements on such particles. An irregular particle is one with an uncertain shape. In the face of uncertainty one must adopt a statistical approach in which scattering properties of ensembles are determined. To obtain ensemble averages, a basis is needed for averaging over a set of electromagnetic microstates. Ensemble averages based on the Rayleigh theory for small ellipsoids and on the T matrix method for spheroids agree better with measurements than Mie theory does. The coupled‐dipole method also provides a basis for ensemble averaging. This method also leads to a simple physical interpretation of why backscattering is so sensitive to particle shape and can be used to calculate scattering by one‐ and two‐dimensional analogs to three‐dimensional irregular particles.