Electromagnetic Scattering by a Moving Small Particle

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The problem of scattering of a plane electromagnetic wave by a small particle which is moving uniformly in vacuum is investigated. On the basis of the covariance of Maxwell's equations and the principle of phase invariance, the scattered field and the scattering cross section are obtained for a small particle with spherical symmetry which is composed of an arbitrary isotropic material. Then the general scattering formula is applied to the following four cases: (a) a dielectric or permeable particle, (b) a perfectly conducting particle, (c) a charged particle, and (d) a plasma particle. It is found that the scattered radiation is concentrated, in general, in the direction of motion. In addition, it is shown that the scattering cross section increases monotonically with the increase of the velocity when a particle is moving toward the incident wave, while it decreases monotonically when it is moving away from the incident wave.