Multiple electromagnetic scattering by spheres using the T-matrix formulation

Abstract: Low observable technology is used in order to prevent detection, or to delay detection. Radar cross section is an important parameter in aircraft survivability since it measures how detectable an object is with radar. To find the radar cross section Maxwell's equations are solved numerically in the time-domain using a finite difference scheme. This numerical method called Finite Difference Time Domain is very suitable for structures including complex materials. However, this numerical method needs to be verified for large scale simulations, due to numerical dispersion errors. Therefore it is desirable to verify the accuracy of the numerical simulations. In this project, the analytical solution to the multiple scattering by two spheres is implemented using the T-matrix formulation. The analytical solution to the scattering problem is first validated with the analytical Mie-series solution then compared to the Finite Difference Time Domain implementation. The results imply that the difference between the numerical and analytical solution is larger for higher frequencies and larger computational volumes.