A description of general techniques for solving linear partial differential equations by dividing space into regions to which the equations are independently applied and then assembling a global solution from the partial ones. Intended for researchers and graduates involved in calculations of the electronic structure of materials, this will also be of interest to workers in quantum chemistry, electron microscopy, acoustics, optics, and other fields. The book begins with an intuitive approach to scattering theory and then turns to partial waves and a formal development of multiple scattering theory, with applications to the solid state. The authors then present a variational derivation of the formalism and an augmented version of the theory, concluding with a discussion of the relativistic formalism and a discussion of the Poisson equation. Appendices discuss Green's functions, spherical functions, Moller operators and the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, irregular solutions, and singularities in Green's functions.

In 1947, it was discovered that multiple scattering theory (MST) can be used to solve the Schröedinger equation for the stationary states of electrons in a solid. Written by experts in the field, J S Faulkner, G Malcolm Stocks and Yang Wang, this book collates the results of numerous studies in the field of MST and provides a comprehensive, systematic approach to it. For many scientists, students and engineers working with multiple scattering programmes, this will be a useful guide to help expand the existing knowledge of MST as well as understanding its future implications.

Addressing graduate students and researchers, this book gives a very detailed theoretical and computational description of multiple scattering in solid matter. Particular emphasis is placed on solids with reduced dimensions, on full potential approaches and on relativistic treatments. For the first time approaches such as the screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method are reviewed, considering all formal steps such as single-site scattering, structure constants and screening transformations, and also the numerical point of view. Furthermore, a very general approach is presented for solving the Poisson equation, needed within density functional theory in order to achieve self-consistency. Special chapters are devoted to the Coherent Potential Approximation and to the Embedded Cluster Method, used, for example, for describing nanostructured matter in real space. In a final chapter, physical properties related to the (single-particle) Green's function, such as magnetic anisotropies, interlayer exchange coupling, electric and magneto-optical transport and spin-waves, serve to illustrate the usefulness of the methods described.

Publisher description

For ten days at the end of September, 1987, a group of about 75 scientists from 21 different countries gathered in a restored monastery on a 750 meter high piece of rock jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea to discuss the simulation of the transport of electrons and photons using Monte Carlo techniques. When we first had the idea for this meeting, Ralph Nelson, who had organized a previous course at the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture, suggested that Erice would be the ideal place for such a meeting. Nahum, Nelson and Rogers became Co-Directors of the Course, with the help of Alessandro Rindi, the Director of the School of Radiation Damage and Protection, and Professor Antonino Zichichi, Director of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre. The course was an outstanding success, both scientifically and socially, and those at the meeting will carry the marks of having attended, both intellectually and on a personal level where many friendships were made. The scientific content of the course was at a very high caliber, both because of the hard work done by all the lecturers in preparing their lectures (e. g. , complete copies of each lecture were available at the beginning of the course) and because of the high quality of the "students", many of whom were accomplished experts in the field. The outstanding facilities of the Centre contributed greatly to the success. This volume contains the formal record of the course lectures.

The past decade has witnessed breakthroughs in the understanding of the wave localization phenomena and its implications for wave multiple scattering in inhomogeneous media. This book brings together review articles written by noted researchers in this field in a tutorial manner so as to give the readers a coherent picture of its status. It would be valuable both as an up-to-date reference for active researchers as well as a readable source for students looking to gain an understanding of the latest results.

Absorption and Scattering of Light by Small Particles Treating absorption and scattering in equal measure, this self-contained, interdisciplinary study examines and illustrates how small particles absorb and scatter light. The authors emphasize that any discussion of the optical behavior of small particles is inseparable from a full understanding of the optical behavior of the parent material-bulk matter. To divorce one concept from the other is to render any study on scattering theory seriously incomplete. Special features and important topics covered in this book include: * Classical theories of optical properties based on idealized models * Measurements for three representative materials: magnesium oxide, aluminum, and water * An extensive discussion of electromagnetic theory * Numerous exact and approximate solutions to various scattering problems * Examples and applications from physics, astrophysics, atmospheric physics, and biophysics * Some 500 references emphasizing work done since Kerker's 1969 work on scattering theory * Computer programs for calculating scattering by spheres, coated spheres, and infinite cylinders