Diffraction of a plane wave by an infinitely long circular cylinder or a sphere: solution from Mie theory

Diffraction of an infinitely long circular cylinder normally illuminated by a plane wave is discussed from the classical Mie theory. A rigorous expression of the diffracted light is obtained, which is simply characterized by a factor (θ/2)/sin(θ/2) and the sinc function sin(αθ)/(αθ). Numerical calculation shows an apparent difference between our results and those from scalar wave diffraction theory, especially in large diffraction angles. The factor (θ/2)/sin(θ/2) is introduced into the diffracted light by a sphere, which leads to an alternative approximation of the diffracted light.