Dirac integral equations for dielectric and plasmonic scattering

Abstract

A new integral equation formulation is presented for the Maxwell transmission problem in Lipschitz domains. It builds on the Cauchy integral for the Dirac equation, is free from false eigenwavenumbers for a wider range of permittivities than other known formulations, can be used for magnetic materials, is applicable in both two and three dimensions, and does not suffer from any low-frequency breakdown. Numerical results for the two-dimensional version of the formulation, including examples featuring surface plasmon waves, demonstrate competitiveness relative to state-of-the-art integral formulations that are constrained to two dimensions. However, our Dirac integral equation performs equally well in three dimensions, as demonstrated in a companion paper.