Scatteringare

Scatteringare is a term that appears in discussions of wave scattering but is not part of the standard vocabulary of established physics. Because it has no single agreed definition, its meaning is source-dependent and often serves as a placeholder for a proposed measure of scattering strength.

In proposed usages, scatteringare is described as an effective geometric area that characterizes the portion of incident energy redirected by scattering within a specified angular range, frequency band, or polarization state. It is closely related to the concept of a scattering cross section, but is framed as an area-like quantity that can, in some proposals, be context-dependent or partial, unlike a traditional cross section which has a clear integration over angles. Some authors apply the term in discussions of metamaterials, acoustic scattering, or optical systems to emphasize anisotropy or speciality of the scattering process.

Calculation and interpretation vary: one could define scatteringare as the integral of the differential scattering cross section over a chosen acceptance interval, normalized by incident flux, or as a parameter of a phase function that yields an effective area for forward or backward scattering. However, there is no universal formula; the term is not standardized and may be used inconsistently.

Status and usage: The term appears primarily in informal or speculative contexts, online glossaries, and some theoretical notes; it is not widely adopted in peer-reviewed literature as of now. Related concepts include scattering cross section, differential cross section, phase function, and mean free path.