Virtues of mueller matrix imaging for underwater target detection.

We present a theoretical analysis on use of polarized light in the detection of a model target in a scattering and absorbing medium similar to seawater. Monte Carlo numerical simulations are used in the calculation of the effective Mueller matrix which describes the scattering process. A target in the shape of a disk is divided into three regions, each of which has the same albedo but different reduced Mueller matrices.

Light backscattering polarization patterns from turbid media: theory and experiment.

We present both experimental measurements and Monte-Carlo-based simulations of the diffusely backscattered intensity patterns that arise from illuminating a turbid medium with a polarized laser beam. It is rigorously shown that, because of axial symmetry of the system, only seven elements of the effective backscattering Mueller matrix are independent. A new numerical method that allows simultaneous calculation of all 16 elements of the two-dimensional Mueller matrix is used.

Theoretical analysis of polarization patterns from incoherent backscattering of light.

Anisotropy in the polarization of the backscattered light from a polarized laser beam incident upon a scattering medium has been observed experimentally. When the beam is viewed through an oriented polarizer, characteristic patterns in the backscattered light are observed. We present here a simple explanation of these patterns, using the theory of incoherent scattering of light by spheres.

Measurement and calculation of the two-dimensional backscattering Mueller matrix of a turbid medium.

We present both experimental and Monte Carlo-based simulation results for the diffusely backscattered intensity patterns that arise from illumination of a turbid medium with a polarized laser beam. A numerical method that allows the calculation of all 16 elements of the two-dimensional Muller matrix is used; moreover, it is shown that only seven matrix elements are independent. To validate our method, we compared our simulations with experimental measurements, using a turbid medium consisting of 2.