Spectrum decomposition of translation operators in periodic waveguide

Abstract

Scattering problems in periodic waveguides are interesting but also challenging topics in mathematics, both theoretically and numerically. Due to the existence of eigenvalues, the unique solvability of these problems is not always guaranteed. To obtain a unique solution that is "physically meaningful", the limiting absorption principle (LAP) is a commonly used method. LAP assumes that the limit of a family of solutions with absorbing media converges, as the absorption parameter tends to 0, and the limit is the "physically meaningful solution". It is also called the LAP solution in this paper. It has been proved that the LAP holds for periodic waveguides in [Hoa11]. In this paper, we consider the spectrum decomposition of periodic translation operators. With the curve integral formulation and a generalized Residue theorem, the operator is explicitly described by its eigenvalues and generalized eigenfunctions, which are closely related to Bloch wave solutions. Then the LAP solution is decomposed into generalized eigenfunctions. This gives a better understanding of structure of the scattered fields.