  We propose a model, based on a quantum stochastic differential equation
(QSDE), to describe the scattering of polarized laser light by an atomic gas.
The gauge terms in the QSDE account for the direct scattering of the laser
light into different field channels. Once the model has been set, we can
rigorously derive quantum filtering equations for balanced polarimetry and
homodyne detection experiments, study the statistics of output processes and
investigate a strong driving, weak coupling limit.
