Light Scattered by Cosmic Dust at Visible Wavelengths

The present chapter is focused on studying the polarimetric response of the scattered light by an ensemble of irregular dust particles. This is done by measuring the so-called scattering matrix which depends on physical parameters of the sample as the shape, the size distribution and the complex refractive index. This has proven to be a powerful diagnostic tool in the past, and has been proposed as a promising method to study exoplanetary atmospheres. In this chapter, the methodology of these measurements is explained through the presentation of an optical laboratory, its theoretical background, the calibration procedures and some applied examples.