Spectral domain method for the electromagnetic scattering by a buried sphere

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics and Wave Propagation
• Computational Physics
• Geophysics

Background:

• Analyzing electromagnetic scattering from buried objects is crucial for applications like subsurface sensing.
• Existing methods often face challenges with complex geometries and material properties.
• Accurate modeling of wave interactions at dielectric interfaces is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rigorous method for analyzing electromagnetic scattering of plane waves by a sphere buried in a dielectric half-space.
• To extend the method for analyzing scattering of short pulses, considering medium dispersion.
• To provide a validated computational tool for electromagnetic scattering problems.

Main Methods:

• Expansion of electric field components in vectorial spherical harmonics.
• Utilizing the plane-wave spectrum to compute scattered-reflected and scattered-transmitted fields.
• Formulating a linear system from boundary conditions to solve for unknown coefficients.
• Implementing a numerical code with a proposed truncation criterion.

Main Results:

• A robust method for analyzing electromagnetic scattering from a buried sphere is established.
• Numerical simulations demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the implemented code.
• The method is successfully generalized to handle short pulse scattering in dispersive media.
• Comparisons with existing literature and commercial software validate the approach.

Conclusions:

• The presented method offers a powerful and accurate tool for electromagnetic scattering analysis of buried objects.
• The generalization to short pulses and dispersive media expands its applicability to more realistic scenarios.
• This work contributes to advancements in subsurface sensing and electromagnetic modeling.