Application of the discontinuous Galerkin time domain method in the simulation of the optical properties of dielectric particles

Abstract

A Discontinuous Galerkin Time Domain method (DGTD), using a fourth order Runge-Kutta time-stepping of Maxwell's equations, was applied to the simulation of the optical properties of dielectric particles in two-dimensional (2-D) geometry. As examples of the numerical implementation of this method, the single-scattering properties of 2D circular and hexagonal particles are presented. In the case of circular particles, the scattering phase matrix was computed using the DGTD method and compared with the exact solution. For hexagonal particles, the DGTD method was used to compute single-scattering properties of randomly oriented 2-D hexagonal ice crystals, and results were compared with those calculated using a geometric optics method. Both shortwave (visible) and longwave (infrared) cases are considered, with particle size parameters 50 and 100. Ice in shortwave and longwave cases is absorptive and non-absorptive, respectively. The comparisons between DG solutions and the exact solutions in computing the optical properties of circular ice crystals reveal the applicability of the DG method to calculations of both absorptive and non-absorptive particles. In the hexagonal case scattering results are also presented as a function of both incident and scattering angles, revealing structure apparently not reported before. Using the geometric optics method we are able to interpret this structure in terms of contributions from varying numbers of internal reflections within the crystal.