The scattering of electromagnetic waves in fractal media

Abstract

The scattering of electromagnetic waves in fractal media is studied. The fractal dimension is naturally involved in the formulation of two physical problems studied in this paper. The general theory of multiple scattering of electromagnetic wave in fractal media is developed by modifying Twersky's theory. Statistical quantities, such as the average field and average intensity of the multiple scattered wave, are studied for a wave propagating in a fractal medium. The scattering cross section of the medium is deduced. The backscattering of electromagnetic waves is also studied. The results showing the range of dependence of the backscattered signals are in agreement with numerical simulations by Rastogi and Scheucher (1990). It also suggests a method of measuring the fractal dimension of the fractal embedded media using radar sounding. The theory developed in this paper can also be used for problems related to multiple scattering of other kinds of waves, such as acoustic waves, elastic waves etc, in fractal media.