Diffraction Effects in Semiclassical Scattering

ISBN-13: 9780521383189 / Angielski / Twarda / 1992 / 256 str.

H. M. Nussenzveig

Opis

Critical effects in semiclassical light scattering, in which the standard approximations break down, are associated with forward peaking, rainbows, glories, orbiting, and resonances. Besides giving rise to beautiful optical effects in the atmosphere, critical effects have important applications in many areas of physics. Their interpretation and accurate treatment, however, are difficult. This book deals with the theory of these critical effects. After a preliminary chapter posing the problem of critical effects, the next three chapters on coronae, rainbows, and glories, are written to be accessible to a broader audience of physicists. The main part of the book then describes the results obtained from the application of complex angular momentum techniques to scattering by homogeneous spheres. These techniques lead to practically usable asymptotic approximations, and to new physical insights into critical effects. A new conceptual picture of diffraction, regarded as a tunnelling effect, emerges. The final two chapters contain brief descriptions of applications to a broad range of fields including linear and nonlinear optics, radiative transfer, astronomy, acoustics, seismology, atomic, nuclear, and particle physics. This book intends to convey the basic concepts and physical interpretations that emerge from the new approach, rather than the complete formalism.

Recenzje

'Nicely written and well organized, the book may be useful to research workers in these areas … The material is also accessible to graduate students … I hope that the relatively low price will help to distribute this work into many physical libraries.' Optik

Spis treści

1. Critical effects in semiclassical scattering; 2. Diffraction and coronae; 3. The rainbow; 4. The glory; 5. Mie solution and resonances; 6. Complex angular momentum; 7. Scattering by an impenetrable sphere; 8. Diffraction as tunnelling; 9. The Debye expansion; 10. Theory of the rainbow; 11. Theory of the glory; 12. Near-critical scattering; 13. Average cross sections; 14. Orbiting and resonances; 15. Macroscopic applications; 16. Applications to atomic, nuclear and particle physics; References; Index.