Resonance line polarization in spherical atmospheres

Abstract

The basic features of the resonance line polarization in spherically symmetric media are examined using simple physical and atmospheric models, with special consideration given to the two-level atom line polarization transfer in spherical geometry. The dependence of the resonance line polarization on the physical parameters of the two-level atom formulation and on the global parameters (such as extendedness, the opacity law in a spherical medium, and the boundary conditions) is investigated. It is found that the polarization in the resonance line is substantially affected by the the sphericity and the extendedness