Fundamentals of the Physical Theory of Diffraction, 2nd Edition

Introduction

The physical theory of diffraction (PTD) is an asymptotic high-frequency technique originated in earlier work by this author (Ufimtsev, 1957, 1958a,b,c, 1961). The results of initial journal publications on PTD were summarized in a monograph (Ufimtsev, 1962b), which became a bibliographical rarity a long time ago. To acquaint a new generation of readers with the original form of PTD, some sections of this monograph were updated and included in two books (Ufimtsev, 2003, 2009). Comments on origination and development of PTD were presented recently in an anniversary article (Ufimtsev, 2013a). The selected topics of the modern form of PTD were published in concise form in articles by Butorin and Ufimtsev (1986), Butorin et al. (1987), Ufimtsev (1989, 1991), Ufimtsev and Rahmat-Samii (1995), Ufimtsev (1998, 2006a,b, 2008a,b), and Hacivelioglu et al. (2011).

This book presents the first complete and comprehensive description of modern PTD based on the concept of elementary edge waves (EEW). The theory is developed for acoustic and electromagnetic waves scattered by perfectly reflecting objects.

For acoustic waves, soft (Dirichlet) or hard (Neumann) boundary conditions are imposed on scattering objects located in a homogeneous nonviscous medium. The absence of viscosity is justified for a fluid (such as air and water) in the linear approximation (Kinsler et al., 1982; Pierce, 1994).

In diffraction problems for electromagnetic waves, the scattering objects are considered ...