Transfer-matrix formulation of the scattering of electromagnetic waves and broadband invisibility in three dimensions

Abstract

We develop a transfer-matrix formulation of the scattering of electromagnetic waves by a general isotropic medium which makes use of a notion of electromagnetic transfer matrix $\mathbf{M}$ that does not involve slicing of the scattering medium or discretization of some of the position- or momentum-space variables. This is a linear operator that we can express as a $4\times 4$ matrix with operator entries and identify with the S-matrix of an effective nonunitary quantum system. We use this observation to establish the composition property of $\mathbf{M}$, obtain an exact solution of the scattering problem for a non-magnetic point scatterer that avoids the divergences of the Green's function approaches, and prove a general invisibility theorem. The latter allows for an explicit characterization of a class of isotropic media ${\cal M}$ displaying perfect broadband invisibility for electromagnetic waves of arbitrary polarization provided that their wavenumber $k$ does not exceed a preassigned critical value $\alpha$, i.e., ${\cal M}$ behaves exactly like vacuum for $k\leq\alpha$. Generalizing this phenomenon, we introduce and study $\alpha$-equivalent media that, by definition, have identical scattering features for $k\leq\alpha$.