Spatially resolved maps of the reflected flux (top) and degree of linear polarization (bottom) for phase angles (from left to right). The direction and length of the white vectors in the lower figures represent the angle and degree of the linear polarization, respectively. The vectors are oriented perpendicular to the incoming radiation since the matrix element F₁₂ is negative for both molecular hydrogen and water-ice particles at these scattering angles (see Fig. 3). The scale of the vector length is displayed on the right side between the figures. The ring has an inclination of i = 30° and an optical depth of τ_r = 1. The planetary orbit is seen edge-on by the observer. See Sect. 4.1 for details.