Modelling laboratory data of bidirectional reflectance of a regolith surface containing alumina

Abstract

Bidirectional reflectance of a surface is defined as the ratio of the scattered radiation at the detector to the incident irradiance as a function of geometry. Accurate knowledge of the bidirectional reflection function for layers composed of discrete, randomly positioned scattering particles is essential for many remote sensing, engineering, and biophysical applications, as well as for different areas of astrophysics. Computations of bidirectional reflection functions for plane parallel particulate layers are usually reduced to solving the radiative transfer equation by the existing techniques. In this work we present our laboratory data on bidirectional reflectance versus phase angle for two sample sizes of alumina, 0.3 and 1m, for the HeNe laser at wavelengths of 632.8nm (red) and 543.5nm (green). The nature of the phase curves of the asteroids depends on the parameters like particle size, composition, porosity, roughness, etc. In the present study we analyze data which are being generated using a single scattering phase function, that is, Mie theory of treating particles as a compact sphere. The well-known Hapke formula, along with different particle phase functions such as Mie and HenyeyGreenstein, will be used to model the laboratory data obtained at the asteroid laboratory of Assam University. © Astronomical Society of Australia 2011.