Theoretical factors in modeling polarized light scattering by arbitrary particles

The coupled dipole method has been used to model the S(34) scattering matrix element for particles of arbitrary shape. Comparison of the results of the approximate method with the exact theory for a sphere shows that the size of the units required for S(34) is much smaller than the size required for calculating S(11) with similar accuracy. Model calculations for chiral particles show that the S(34) matrix element depends sensitively on the exact shape, size and optical properties of the scatterer.