We performed Mueller matrix Monte Carlo simulations of the propagation of optical radiation in diffusely scat- tering media for collimated incidence and report depolarization in the transmitted rays as a function of thickness, the angle subtended by the detector, and the area of the material sampled. This paper expands upon previous work [Germer, J. Opt. Soc. Am A 37 980 (2020)], whereby it was shown that the complex paths that rays follow serve to depolarize the light and that the measurement geometry is important for obtaining consistent results. In addition, we perform extinction theorem calculations for spheroidal particles and show that for a rea- sonable distribution of particle eccentricity, the depolarization due to the fluctuations of the diattenuation and birefringence of a solution of such spheroids is insignificant compared to the calculated depolarization induced by scattering.
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