Effective-field description of UV photon propagation in correlated urban cloud-aerosol media

Effective-field description of UV photon propagation in correlated urban cloud-aerosol media | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effective-field description of UV photon propagation in correlated urban cloud-aerosol media Luís Rodolfo dos Santos Filho This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8934121/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We develop an effective-field framework for ultraviolet (UV) photon propagation through a heterogeneous urban atmosphere, modeled as a correlated dielectric disorder field $\delta\varepsilon(\mathbf{x})$ embedded in a stratified cloud--aerosol canopy. Using a Born-like approximation for the transverse photon self-energy, we derive closed-form analytical solutions for the damping proxy, emergent photon mass, and effective dielectric function. Crucially, our model identifies an exact topology-driven critical transport scale at $k\xi=1/2$, separating a Rayleigh-type dissipative regime from a strongly forward-peaked, screening-like phase. Furthermore, we show that atmospheric stratification naturally induces a macroscopic birefringence ($\Delta n_{\mathrm{eff}} \sim 10^{-4}$). Finally, observational validation using NASA POWER UV irradiance and CETESB PM$_{10}$ data over S\~ao Paulo ($N=149$ days) confirms the predicted sign inversion of the effective coupling across cloud-cover regimes. These results provide a rigorous, physics-first route to connect macroscopic radiative-transfer phenomenology with effective-field language in complex media. Geophysics Soft Condensed-matter Physics correlated disorder effective field theory photon self-energy radiative transport clouds aerosols UV Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8934121","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":594899821,"identity":"63fabb60-5b20-4aa6-96e8-4d786065fe45","order_by":0,"name":"Luís Rodolfo dos Santos Filho","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPjiLvQFCGxDSwgZXx3OAZC0SCcRqkT7A/OHnjj9y8jPfmD348OcOg7n0AQJa+BLYJHvPGBgb3M4xN5zZ9ozBsi+BgBYeoNt42wwSN0jnmEnzNhxmMDhDyGE8DMwf/wK1zJ95xkz6zx/itDBIg2xpuMFjJs3ARpQWxjZp2TZjY4MzaWWSvW3PeCx7CGjh52E+/PFtm5ycfPvhbRI//tyRM+choIWBgbEBmXeAsAZ0cIBkHaNgFIyCUTD8AQAECznSywzg8gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5938-1165","institution":"UNESP Guaratinguetá","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luís","middleName":"Rodolfo dos Santos","lastName":"Filho","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-21 14:32:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8934121/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8934121/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103507248,"identity":"f8129b71-dcb3-48d1-8c4f-47b43ea58ba6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:40:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":753387,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptfileqftatm.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8934121/v1_covered_e379108b-e24a-4520-bcd3-92e0daed4f4d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eEffective-field description of UV photon propagation in correlated urban cloud-aerosol media\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"UNESP - Faculty of Science and Engineering of Guaratinguetá","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"correlated disorder, effective field theory, photon self-energy, radiative transport, clouds, aerosols, UV","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8934121/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8934121/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe develop an effective-field framework for ultraviolet (UV) photon propagation through a heterogeneous urban atmosphere, modeled as a correlated dielectric disorder field $\\delta\\varepsilon(\\mathbf{x})$ embedded in a stratified cloud--aerosol canopy. 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