| Abstract: | A perturbation solution is derived for the following problem: A time harmonic wave of amplitude ψ, propagating in a medium with wave number k, is incident on an irregular volume V, inside of which the propagation constant k′(r) can be an arbitrary function of | r |, where r is a position vector with origin inside V. The boundary conditions are that both ψ and its normal derivative ∂ψ/∂n may be discontinuous across the surface of V. Special cases of these conditions correspond to acoustic scattering, to B-wave scattering from a dielectric cylinder, or to the classical Dirichlet (ψ = 0) or Neumann (∂ψ/∂n = 0) surface conditions. An integral equation is derived that satisfies the appropriate differential equations both outside and inside the body, and satisfies the boundary conditions as well. This equation is reduced to a set of linear algebraic equations by expansion in a certain basis set and these linear equations are then solved in a perturbation approximation for the case that the surface of the body differs from a sphere or cylinder by a small parameter λ. Comparison is made with formulae in the literature, and except for some minor discrepancies, which are here corrected, there is general agreement. |
