Polarization in spectral lines: III: Resonance polarization in the non-magnetic, collisionless regime

The general formalism, presented in a previous paper of this series, is particularized to deduce the radiative transfer equations for polarized radiation and the statistical equilibrium equations for a multi-level atom in the zero-magnetic field, collisionless regime. The formulae are developed both...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar physics 1984-03, Vol.91 (1), p.1-26
Main Author: DEGLINNOCENTI, E L
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The general formalism, presented in a previous paper of this series, is particularized to deduce the radiative transfer equations for polarized radiation and the statistical equilibrium equations for a multi-level atom in the zero-magnetic field, collisionless regime. The formulae are developed both in the standard representation and in the representation of the statistical tensors. For resonance scattering in a two-level atom, in the limiting case of complete depolarization of the ground level, the classical results for Rayleigh scattering are recovered and the expression of the phase matrix in terms of ordinary rotation matrices is derived. The law of scattering is then generalized to take properly into account the influence of the anisotropy of the radiation field on the atomic polarization of the ground level (depopulation pumping).
ISSN:0038-0938
1573-093X
DOI:10.1007/BF00213606