Scattering of electromagnetic waves by an optically active spherical shell

Abstract

The scattering of electromagnetic waves by a spherical shell with intrinsic optical activity is calculated exactly from electromagnetic theory using the constitutive relations for an optically active, isotropic medium. The solution so obtained reduces to the standard solution in the limit of equal refractive indices for left− and right−circularly polarized waves. Expressions are given for single−particle cross sections and scattering matrix elements as well as circular dichroism and optical rotation for an aggregate of shells. These expressions are potentially applicable to the calculation of scattering contributions to optical rotatory dispersion and circular dichroism spectra for those particles of biological origin which can be modeled by an optically active shell.