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For the application of vortex electromagnetic (EM) beams in practical detection scenes, the scattering characteristics of electrically large arbitrarily shaped targets illuminated by an off-axis Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) vortex beam are investigated and compared to the on-axis incidence case. The vector potential method is used to extract the electric and magnetic field components of the LG beam in different polarization states. The physical optics algorithm is adopted to calculate the scattering fields of four typical targets with the shape of a sphere, NASA almond, blunt cone, and blade model. The results revealed that as the beam center offset and the topological charge of the incident vortex beam increase, the scattering field distorts, and the obvious orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectrum mixing occurs. In addition, OAM spectrum aliasing occurs for asymmetric targets, even at on-axis incidence. These results elucidate the mechanism of vortex EM scattering and provide a reference for applying vortex beams for target detection and recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we obtained the intensity and orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectral distribution of the scattering fields of vortex electromagnetic beams illuminating electrically large targets composed of different materials. We used the angular spectral decomposition method to decompose a vortex beam into plane waves in the spectral domain at different elevations and azimuths. We combined this method with the physical optics algorithm to calculate the scattering field distribution. The OAM spectra of the scattering field along different observation radii were analyzed using the spiral spectrum expansion method. The numerical results indicate that for beams with different parameters (such as polarization, topological charge, half-cone angle, and frequency) and targets with different characteristics (such as composition), the scattering field intensity distribution and OAM spectral characteristics varied considerably. When the beam parameters change, the results of scattering from different materials show similar changing trends. Compared with beams scattered by uncoated metal and dielectric targets, the scattering field of the coating target can better maintain the shape and OAM mode of beams from the incident field. The scattering characteristics of metal targets were the most sensitive to beam-parameter changes. The relationship between the beam parameters, target parameters, the scattering field intensity, and the OAM spectra of the scattering field was constructed, confirming that the spiral spectrum of the scattering field carries the target information. These findings can be used in remote sensing engineering to supplement existing radar imaging, laying the foundation for further identification of beam or target parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the physical optics method, the scattering characteristics of fractal rough surface coated objects are studied in the terahertz (THz) range herein. A blunt model based on fractal rough surfaces is built. The surface current is calculated according to the Fresnel reflection coefficient, and the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of the rough coated target is obtained. The RCS of rough and smooth surface targets are compared. Numerical results for a rough coated blunt cone model are provided, and discussed from the perspective of different frequencies and coating thickness values. The results show that the surface roughness of the target has a significant effect on scattering in the terahertz range.

The rough structure may affect the flow field and electromagnetic (EM) scattering characteristics of a hypersonic vehicle. In this study, the EM scattering characteristics of the hypersonic vehicle RAM C-II with a microrough surface were investigated in the millimeter wave band. We first simulated the flow field of a smooth RAM C-II vehicle and calculated the radar cross section (RCS) in the wideband using the physical optics method. The calculation results show that many factors contribute to the variation in the RCS; however, it is occasionally difficult to predict. We then used a one-dimensional Gaussian random rough surface to generate a RAM C-II with a microrough surface through a point-coordinate transformation and simulated its flow field. The electron density flow field of the rough surfaced aircraft fluctuates greatly on the wall. Finally, we calculated the RCS of RAM C-II with different values of roughness in the millimeter wave band. The change of surface structure can be reflected in millimeter waves, and the RCS is determined by both plasma and rough structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study, an efficient bi-iterative physical optics (PO) electromagnetic model is used to analyze the composite scattering from a PEC object above two-layered rough soil surfaces for the first time. The PO method is applied to calculate the direct scattered fields from the object and the upper layer rough surface and to deal with the mutual coupling effect between the object and the two-layered rough surfaces. During the mutual coupling process, a bi-iterative strategy is considered to solve the coupling interaction between the object and the upper rough surface and the coupling interaction between the upper and lower rough surfaces. We assume a 2-D scattering problem. The result is validated by comparing it with that obtained from the conventional method of moments (MoM). Comparison results from different object types show that the scattered curves calculated using the proposed method resemble the ones obtained from MoM. The comparison of computer resources also shows the efficiency of our method. Meanwhile, the normalized radar cross-section of the composite model is analyzed under different parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past, most of the transient electromagnetic (EM) analyses focused on the scattering from the target. The transient scattering from rough surface was rarely studied, especially for the layered rough surface. When the target is above the rough surface, it needs to solve the composite transient scattering from the rough surface and the target above it. In this article, we mainly focus on the time-domain (TD) analysis for transient scattering from the target and layered rough surface based on time-domain ray tracing (TDRT) modeling. Applying geometrical optics (GO), the multiple bounces of the transient EM waves between layered rough surfaces and target are traced to obtain the incident field of the irradiated surfaces. Then considering the particularity of the layered rough surface, we modify TD Gordon integral and reduce the TD physical optics (TDPO) integral to closed-form expressions to improve the computing efficiency. To demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm, the transient scattering simulations of the composite model involving target and layered rough surface are compared with frequency-domain ray tracing (FDRT) with inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), as well as the results obtained by the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) of FEKO in conjunction with IFFT (IFFT-MLFMA). The characteristics of transient scattering from the composite model are further studied to show the physical phenomenon of scattering mechanisms. Specifically, the transient scattering from the composite model for different parameters is simulated for sensitivity investigation of the transient scattering to the variations in the related parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a hybrid approach that combines machine learning and experimental design to efficiently and accurately predict the monostatic radar cross section (RCS) of a conducting target versus the incident angle. The approach is called physical optics-inspired support vector regression (POI-SVR). The design of its kernel function is inspired by PO. Uniform design (UD) and uniform design sampling (UDS) are introduced to obtain highly representative training samples. Numerical experiments dealing with simple and complex targets are carried out to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that our method can reduce the predictive root-mean-square error (RMSE) by 29.38%–64.78% compared with the alternative methods of combining a Gaussian SVR with the centrically located sampling (CLS), the Latin hypercube sampling (LHS), or the simple random sampling (SRS). Under the same sampling strategies (i.e., UD and UDS), POI-SVR can reduce the predictive RMSE by 11.30%–53.56% compared with the Gaussian SVR. The well-trained POI-SVR can predict the monostatic RCS of the target in any direction within 0.1 s, and in 20 000 directions within 10 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new electromagnetic (EM) calculation model, the inhomogeneity zonal medium model (IZMM) (based on the physical optics (PO) method), is proposed to calculate and analyze the EM scattering characteristics of hypersonic vehicle covered with a plasma sheath. First, the flow field of the plasma sheath is divided into nonuniform calculation subregions with different spacing sizes. The shape of the external flow field of the aircraft is modeled by fitting with a paraboloid and circular platform with different radii. Then, the electron density, temperature, and pressure distribution are obtained by collecting data from different points in the flow field of the sheath. Finally, a piecewise PO method is used to calculate the backscattering radar cross section (BRCS) of the hypersonic vehicle covered with plasma sheath from $L$ -band to $X$ -band. The numerical results show that the EM scattering characteristics of a target spacecraft covered with a plasma sheath can be described more accurately by using zoned medium model simulation. Under different flying conditions, the BRCS of hypersonic vehicle covered with a plasma sheath appears to be reduced to different degrees in the $S$ -band and the band range of 7–11 GHz, and a large attenuation of BRCS occurs in the head area of the aircraft. The research results enrich the EM modeling method of hypersonic vehicles, overcome some shortcomings of the existing PO method, and provide technical support and innovative ideas for the accurate analysis of the EM scattering characteristics of hypersonic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we propose an inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging method using time-domain (TD) scattering echo simulated by time-domain physical optics (TDPO) method. First, the TD pulse plane wave is taken as the incident wave and the transient scattering echo data matrix is obtained by using the TDPO method under different look angles of the target. Then, demodulation, pulse compression, and azimuth inverse fast Fourier transform (FFT) are performed on the echo data matrix to obtain the ISAR image under small bandwidth small angle. In this letter, considering the fact of TD pulse signals emitted by radar, electromagnetic scattering modeling method is adopted to obtain more accurate TD scattering echoes. This method combines the electromagnetic scattering algorithm and radar imaging algorithm effectively and is closer to practical application. Finally, ISAR images are given to verify the feasibility and fidelity of the presented method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-domain physical optics (TDPO) contour integral representations are developed for backscattered near fields from a perfectly conducting surface illuminated by a dipole source. The proposed representations are derived from the TDPO surface integral representations by introducing two theorems: surface gradient and surface divergence theorems. The proposed representations are free from singularities for all the source/observer positions in which the dipole antenna is located. In addition, the time-domain physical theory of diffraction is introduced to modify the physical optical field considering the effect of the edge diffraction. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel expression based on conventional Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines surfaces is proposed to model a scatterer, which can be used to overcome the deficiencies of conventional modeling method and can also be combined perfectly with the stationary phase method (SPM). Furthermore, we propose a fast and accurate algorithm to locate inner critical points and boundary critical points of physical optics (PO) integrals, as well as to locate stationary points of edge-diffracted integrals. The terahertz (THz) scattering field from an electrically large scatterer is evaluated by the physical theory of diffraction and SPM (PTD-SPM), which consists of four parts, including the PO scattering field from inner critical points, boundary critical points, corner points of PO integrals, and edge-diffracted field from the stationary points of edge-diffracted integral. Moreover, the order of magnitude of each part contribution is derived. Numerical results demonstrate that PTD-SPM is a valid and efficient algorithm for analyzing THz scattering from an electrically large scatterer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical electromagnetic method based on the physical optics with physical optics method (PO-PO) is employed to calculate backscattered returns from a missile-like target above sea surface. Surfaces are time-varying Monte Carlo simulations initialized as realizations of a Pierson–Moskowitz spectrum. The monostatic normalized radar cross section of composite model by the hybrid PO-PO method is calculated and compared with those by the conventional method of moments, as well as the runtime and memory requirements. The results are found to be in good agreement. The runtime shows that the hybrid PO-PO method enables large-scale time-varying Monte Carlo simulations. The numerical simulations of the Doppler spectrum from the fast-moving target above time-varying lossy dielectric sea surface are obtained, and the Doppler spectra of backscattered signals from this model are discussed for different incident angles, speed of flying target, wind speeds, incident frequencies, and target altitudes in detail. Finally, the coupling effects on Doppler spectra are analyzed. All the results are obtained at the incidence of horizontal polarization wave in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at applying a simplified sea surface model into the physical optics (PO) method to accelerate the scattering calculation from 1D time varying sea surface. To reduce the number of the segments and make further improvement on the efficiency of PO method, a simplified sea surface is proposed. In this simplified sea surface, the geometry of long waves is locally approximated by tilted facets that are much longer than the electromagnetic wavelength. The capillary waves are considered to be sinusoidal line superimposing on the long waves. The wavenumber of the sinusoidal waves is supposed to satisfy the resonant condition of Bragg waves which is dominant in all the scattered short wave components. Since the capillary wave is periodical within one facet, an analytical integration of the PO term can be performed. The backscattering coefficient obtained from a simplified sea surface model agrees well with that obtained from a realistic sea surface. The Doppler shifts and width also agree well with the realistic model since the capillary waves are taken into consideration. The good agreements indicate that the simplified model is reasonable and valid in predicting both the scattering coefficients and the Doppler spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the detection platform of space-borne radar (SBR), the dynamic electromagnetic (EM) scattering characteristics of a hypersonic vehicle covered with plasma sheath are calculated and analyzed by the physical optics (PO) method. Using the angle-time conversion method, the dynamic radar cross section (DRCS) of the vehicle in horizontal flying path and different flying states is solved in the range of L-band to X-band. The relevant effective statistical features are extracted from the time-scale matrix of DRCS based on continuous wavelet transform (CWT). The numerical results show that: At different flying altitudes, the backscattering radar cross section (BRCS) of the hypersonic vehicle covered with plasma sheath has irregular fluctuation and large range reduction in the head region of the vehicle. Generally, the higher the incident EM wave frequency is, the more detailed the fluctuation characteristics of the DRCS can be reflected. Within the same radar illuminate angle range, the time consumed by the vehicle DRCS is inversely proportional to the flying height and flying speed and is directly proportional to the detection altitude of the SBR. Besides, the different kinds of statistical eigenvalues extracted from DRCS will play an important role in hypersonic targets classification and recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]