Henyey-Greenstein and Mie phase functions in Monte Carlo radiative transfer computations

Abstract

Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulation of light scattering in planetary atmospheres is not a simple problem, especially the study of angular distribution of light intensity. Approximate phase functions such as Henyey-Greenstein, modified Henyey-Greenstein, or Legendre polynomial decomposition are often used to simulate the Mie phase function. An alternative solution using an exact calculation alleviates these approximations.