Fundamentals of the Physical Theory of Diffraction

The book is a complete, comprehensive description of the modern Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD) based upon the concept of elementary edge waves. The theory is demonstrated with examples of the diffraction of acoustic and electromagnetic waves at perfectly reflecting objects. Readers develop the skills to apply PTD to solve various scattering problems. The derived analytic expressions clearly illustrate the physical structure of the scattered field. They additionally describe all of the reflected and diffracted rays and beams, as well as the fields in the vicinity of caustics and foci. Shadow radiation, a fundamental component of PTD, is introduced and proven to conta…