CHAPTER IX - PLANE-SOURCE GENERATED LIGHT FIELDS IN DISCRETE SPACES

Abstract

This chapter discusses plane-source generated light fields in discrete spaces and describes the problem of determining the light field generated by internal plane-sources in an arbitrarily stratified plane-parallel medium. The plane-source problem arises in real optical media such as the sea or the atmosphere whenever there are true emission processes of either physical or biological origin within the media. For example, in the ocean, bioluminescence can exist in layers at various depths, thereby giving rise to local sources of radiant flux in the natural light field. This locally emitted flux initiates a multiple scattering process of its own and adds its share to the natural light field induced by the flux from the sun and sky. The geometric setting of the plane-source problem is an extended cubic lattice that is the discrete-space counterpart to the continuous plane-parallel optical medium. The plane-sources irradiate arbitrary sets of monolayers distributed within the lattice. The discrete-space approach permits a comparatively wide range of exploration of the effects of arbitrary internal sources within optical media.