Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Although military studies of the last ten years have shown that visible polarimetry supplies supplemental surveillance information, the polarimetric signatures of ground-based objects greatly depend on the illuminating skylight polarization. The polarization of a pure molecular atmosphere is easily modeled, but aerosols and clouds modify clear-sky polarization substantially. The Air Force has developed a polarimetric atmospheric radiative transfer model (MODTRAN-P) to simulate atmospheric effects. To assist MODTRAN-P code validation, a full-sky visible polarimeter has been developed using liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs). Unique calibration issues of LCVR instruments are addressed. A fisheye lens can be exchanged for a telephoto lens to provide system flexibility. This allows comparison between changing sky and changing target signatures.
Author: Nathaniel Joel Pust
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1575466851