Absorbing boundary conditions for electromagnetic wave propagation

Abstract

In this paper, the theoretical perfectly absorbing boundary condition on the boundary of a half–space domain is developed for the Maxwell system by considering the system as a whole instead of considering each component of the electromagnetic fields individually. This boundary condition allows any wave motion generated within the domain to pass through the boundary of the domain without generating any reflections back into the interior. By approximating this theoretical boundary condition a class of local absorbing boundary conditions for the Maxwell system can be constructed. Well–posedness in the sense of Kreiss of the Maxwell system with each of these local absorbing boundary conditions is established, and the reflection coefficients are computed as a plane wave strikes the artificial boundary. Numerical experiments are also provided to show the performance of these local absorbing boundary conditions