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THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD:

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENTS
a
Carl E. Baum
a
Air Force Weapons Laboratory , Kirtland AFB, NM, 87117
Published online: 27 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Carl E. Baum (1981) THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD: BACKGROUND AND
DEVELOPMENTS, Electromagnetics, 1:4, 351-360, DOI: 10.1080/02726348108915140

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 THE SlNGULARlTY EXPANSION METHOD:
BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENTS

Carl E. Baum. A i r Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM 871 17

Downloaded by [Queensland University of Technology] at 23:07 13 October 2014

ABSTRACT

The s i n g u l a r i t y expansion method (SEM) arose f r o m the o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t t h e ,

t r a n s i e n t response o f complex e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c s c a t t e r e r s appeared t o be domin-
a t e d by a s m a l l number o f damped s i n u s o i d s . I n t h e complex frequency plane,
these damped s i n u s o i d s a r e p o l e s of t h e Laplace-transformed response. The
q u e s t i o n i s t h e n one o f c h a r a c t e r i z i n g the o b j e c t response ( t i m e and frequency
domains) i n terms o f a l l t h e s i n g u l a r i t i e s ( p o l e s , branch c u t s , e n t i r e func-
t i o n s ) i n t h e complex frequency p l a n e (hence s i n g u l a r i t y expansion method).
B u i l d i n g on t h e o l d e r concept o f n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s , formulae were developed
f o r t h e p o l e terms from an i n t e g r a l - e q u a t i o n f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e s c a t t e r i n g pro-
cess. The r e s u l t i n g f a c t o r i n g o f t h e p o l e terms has i m p o r t a n t a p p l i c a t i o n con-
sequences. L a t e r developments i n c l u d e the eigenmode expansion method (EEM)
which d i a g o n a l i z e s t h e i n t e g r a l - e q u a t i o n k e r n e l s and which can be used as an
i n t e r m e d i a t e s t e p i n o r d e r i n g t h e SEM terms. A d d i t i o n a l concepts which have
appeared i n c l u d e eigenimpedance s y n t h e s i s and e q u i v a l e n t e l e c t r i c a l networks.
O f c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t i s the use o f t h e t h e o r e t i c a l formulae t o e f f i c i e n t l y ana-
l y z e and . o r d e r experimental data. Related t o t h i s i s t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f SEM
r e s u l t s t o t a r g e t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . T h i s paper does n o t delve i n t o t h e mathe-
-
m a t i c a l d e t a i l s : i t oresents an overview o f t h e h i s t o r v and ma.ior conceots and
r e s u l t s i n SEM and EEM and r e l a t e d m a t t e r s .

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 N a t u r a l Frequencies

An i m p o r t a n t antecedent p h y s i c a l concept i s t h a t o f n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s .
These a r e t h o u g h t o f as frequencies f o r which t h e r e i s a response w i t h no f o r c
i n g f u n c t i o n . A l s o c a l l e d n a t u r a l o s c i l l a t i o n s o r resonances, these i n genera
e x h i b i t a damping phenomenon ( i n t h e case o f p a s s i v e o b j e c t s ) which can be
i n t e r p r e t e d as one p a r t o f a complex frequency. I n e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c responses
' o f v a r i o u s s c a t t e r e r s / a n t e n n a s , t h e r e are v a r i o u s examples o f e a r l y work on
n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s . The p e r f e c t l y conducting t h i n w i r e and c i r c u l a r l o o p w e r e
t r e a t e d by numerous i n v e s t i g a t o r s i n c l u d i n g Pock1 i n g t o n i n 1897 [l. 14]*,
Abraham [1.1,1.2], Oseen [1.6-1.91, H a l l & [1.5], and Rayleigh [1.15,1.16].
T h i s was extended t o p e r f e c t l y c o n d u c t i n g p r o l a t e spheroids by Page and Adams
[1.10-1.131 and p e r f e c t l y conducting spheres by S t r a t t o n [1.21]. An i m p o r t a n t

* C i t a t i o n numbers r e f e r t o t h e c o l l e c t e d b i b l i o g r a p h y appearing elsewhere i n

t h i s issue.

Electromagnetics 1 :351-360. 1981

0272-6343/81/040351-10$2.25
Copyright 0 1981 by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation
 352 C. E. BAUM

c o n t r i b u t i o n was made by Schwinger [6.89] who t r e a t e d t h e s p e c i a l case o f e l e c -

tromagnetic f i e l d s i n t e r n a l t o p e r f e c t l y c o n d u c t i n g c a v i t i e s . I n t h i s case t h e
n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s a r e a l l on t h e j w a x i s ( p u r e i m a g i n a r y ) i n t h e complex-
frequency ( s ) o r L a p l a c e - t r a n s f o r m plane, and t h e n a t u r a l modes have a conve-
n i e n t orthogonality property.

1.2 L a p l a c e Transform

Various mathematical t o o l s had been i n use i n e l e c t r i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g and

p r o v i d e d some s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r c o n s t r u c t i n g b a s i c SEM formulae when t h e t i m e
was r i p e . One such t o o l was c e r t a i n l y t h e Laplace ( o r F o u r i e r ) t r a n s f o r m w h i c h
we t a k e i n t h e two-sided sense as
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t E time , - (above) 5 Laplace t r a n s f o r m

(1.1)
s E R + j w = Laplace t r a n s f o r m v a r i a b l e = complex frequency

F ( t ) :any Laplace t r a n s f o r m a b l e t i m e f u n c t i o n o r o p e r a t o r ( s c a l a r ,
v e c t o r , tensor, e t c . )

where t h e Broniwich c o n t o u r , Re[s] = Ro, f o r i n v e r s i o n i s chosen i n t h e s t r i p o f

convergence, say Ra < Re [ s ] < Rb.

1.3 Complex V a r i a b l e Theory

C o n s i d e r i n g t h e response o f some antenna o r s c a t t e r e r as a f u n c t i o n o f s

i n t h e complex s p l a n e one can d e s c r i b e t h e s-plane b e h a v i o r i n terms o f t h e
s i n g u l a r i t i e s ( o r boundaries o f a n a l y t i c i t y ) i n t h e complex plane, i n c l u d i n g
t h e b e h a v i o r a t i n f i n i t y ( e n t i r e f u n c t i o n ) . A p p r o p r i a t e c o n t o u r i n t e g r a l s can
be used t o d e s c r i b e t h e response; t h e contours can be deformed t o g i v e s e p a r a t e
terms f o r each s i n g u l a r i t y i n b o t h complex-frequency and t i m e domains [2.3].

1.4 C i r c u i t and System Theory

I n e l e c t r i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g t h e r e has been a c o n s i d e r a b l e body o f knowledge

developed concerning e l e c t r i c a l networks. T h i s i s sumnarized i n c i r c u i t a n a l y -
s i s and c i r c u i t s y n t h e s i s t h e o r y which ( e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e l i n e a r c a s e ) i s docu-
mented i n numerous t e x t s . T h i s i s f u r t h e r extended t o l i n e a r system t h e o r y and
c o n t r o l t h e o r y which a r e now m a j o r s u b j e c t areas w i t h an e x t e n s i v e l i t e r a t u r e .
The use o f t h e Laplace t r a n s f o r m i s q u i t e e x t e n s i v e i n t h e s e areas, and expan-
si'ons i n terms o f p o l e s a r e o f t e n used. Our problem o f e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c i n t e r -
a c t i o n ( s c a t t e r i n g ) i s r e l a t e d i n t h a t a s c a t t e r e r can be t h o u g h t o f as a d i s -
t r i b u t e d network o r system o f a s p e c i a l k i n d ( w i t h response d e s c r i b e d by t h e
Maxwell e q u a t i o n s ) . Furthermore, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o d e s c r i b e t h e s c a t t e r i n g
process by an e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u i t by u s i n g c i r c u i t s y n t h e s i s concepts t o synthe-
s i z e (perhaps a p p r o x i m a t e l y ) t h e a p p r o p r i a t e complex t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n s and
impedances o f t h e s c a t t e r e r .
 THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD 353

1.5 I n t e g r a l Equations f o r E l e c t r o m a g n e t i c S c a t t e r e r s and Antennas

For p e r f e c t l y c o n d u c t i n g o b j e c t s (as w e l l as f o r c e r t a i n types o f impedance

'loading) an i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n reduces t h e problem from t h r e e space dimensions ( t h e
Maxwell d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n s ) t o two dimensions ( t h e s c a t t e r e r s u r f a c e ) .
Perhaps more i m p o r t a n t , t h e r a d i a t i o n c o n d i t i o n a t i n f i n i t y f o r t h e s c a t t e r e d
f i e l d s i s e x p l i c i t l y i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n so t h a t one need
n o t be concerned w i t h t h e a n a l y t i c c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e r a d i a t i o n c o n d i t i o n i n t o
t h e l e f t h a l f o f t h e s plane. Well-known i n t e g r a l equations i n c l u d e t h e
e l e c t r i c - f i e 1 d i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n and t h e m a g n e t i c - f i e l d i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n ( i n
v a r i o u s forms). I n one-dimensional approximate forms ( f o r w i r e s ) t h e r e a r e t h e
H a l l & and Pock1 i n g t o n equations. The d e t a i l s o f these equations do n o t concern
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us here. The i m p o r t a n t p o i n t i s t h a t t h e y a l l have t h e form

-
< ; ;> = If(;.,)

t(;,s) s i n c i d e n t o r source f i e l d o f some k i n d ( s p e c i f i e d )

(1.2)
. .
s z k e r n e l ( r e l a t e d t o Green's f u n c t i o n ) which may be a d i s t r i b u t i o n

s :t y p i c a l l y c u r r e n t d e n s i t y o r s u r f a c e c u r r e n t d e n s i t y
Here
<> Z symmetric p r o d u c t (1.3)

i s o u r c o n v e n i e n t way t o i n d i c a t e mu1 t i p l i c a t i o n ( o f the two terms separated b y

t h e c o m a ) f o l l o w e d by i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e common s p a t i a l c o o r d i n -
a t e s o v e r t h e domain o f t h e s c a t t e r e r ; t h e t y p e o f m u l t i p l i c a t i o n (e.g., d o t
(.) o r c r o s s ( x ) p r o d u c t ) i s i n d i c a t e d by a p p r o p r i a t e symbols above t h e comna.
W i t h a d d i t i o n a l c o m a s t h i s s y m e t r i c p r o d u c t i s extended t o as many terms and
i n t e g r a t i o n s as desired.

One can i n p r i n c i p l e s o l v e t h e i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n by i n v e r t i n g t h e i n t e g r a l
o p e r a t o r . One f o r m a l l y determines an i n v e r s e k e r n e l (which may be a d i s t r i b u -
t i o n ) which g i v e s a s o l u t i o n

) ; ( ; ) > = ;( - ;I) 2 i d e n t i t y on s c a t t e r e r

where t h e i d e n t i t y i s taken i n t h e sense o f t h e r e l e v a n t v e c t o r components and

domain o f i n t e g r a t i o n (e.g., two o r t h r e e dimensions f o r s u r f a c e s o r volumes,
respectively).

F o r SEM these i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n s have proven t o be v e r y u s e f u l i n con-

s t r u c t i n g formulae f o r t h e v a r i o u s terms. S i n g u l a r i t y e ansions can be con-
s t r u c t e d f o r b o t h t h e response 3 and t h e i n v e r s e k e r n e l p-1( r e l a t e d t o t h e
c l a s s 1 and c l a s s 2 forms o f t h e c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t , r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . Further-
more, t h e i n t e g r a l - e q u a t i o n k e r n e l s can be used t o c o n s t r u c t eigenmode expan-
s i o n s which g i v e a d d i t i o n a l i n s i g h t i n t o the SEM terms. .

1.6 M a t r i x and Operator Theory

I n t e g r a l equations have been c a s t i n approximate numerical f o r m by t h e

moment method (MOM). I n t h i s numerical s o l u t i o n procedure ( t y p i c a l l y f o r use
w i t h l a r g e d i g i t a l computers) t h e c u r r e n t d e n s i t y (response) i s expanded i n a
 354 C. E. BAUM

s e t o f f u n c t i o n s ( o f f i n i t e number i n p r a c t i c e ) c a l l e d expansion f u n c t i o n s ; t;e

i n c i d e n t o r source f i e l d i s s i m i l a r l y expanded i n a s e t o f t e s t i n g f u n c t i o n s .
The v e c t o r s o f c o e f f i c i e n t s o f these two s e t s ( t a k e n w i t h equal numbers o f
components) a r e r e l a t e d by a m a t r i x ( s q u a r e ) which r e p l a c e s t h e i n t e g r a l -
e q u a t i o n o p e r a t o r i n t h e form

I n v e r t i n g t h e ' m a t r i x , one has an approximate s o l u t i o n t o t h e o r i g i n a l e q u a t i o n

(1.2) i n a f o r m analogous t o ( 1 . 4 ) . I n m a t r i x f o r m o u r e q u a t i o n i s more f a m i l -
i a r t o e l e c t r i c a l engineers because such types o f equations appear i n c i r c u i t
problems. The arsenal o f m a t r i x t h e o r y i s now a t o u r d i s p o s a l . E i g e n v e c t o r s
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and eigenvalues can be c o n s t r u c t e d f o r r e p r e s e n t i n t h e s o l u t i o n and understand-

i n g i t s p r o p e r t i e s . Combining m a t r i x ( o r o p e r a t o r ? t h e o r y w i t h c o m p l e x . v a r i a b l e
t h e o r y i s e s s e n t i a l t o SEM. T h i s paper w i l l n o t d e l v e i n t o t h e mathematical
t h e o r y o f such o p e r a t o r s , t h i s s u b j e c t b e i n g l e f t t o o t h e r s .

2. EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF SEM

2.1 The Beginning

I n e a r l y 1971 t h e q u e s t i o n was posed (by t h i s a u t h o r ) . Experimental

o b s e r v a t i o n s o f damped s i n u s o i d s i n EMP e x p e r i m e n t s t suggested po1.e~ i n t h e
corresponding Laplace t r a n s f o r m s . Then i n L a p l a c e - t r a n s f o r m or. complex-
frequency domain t h i s l e d t o t h e i d e a o f expanding t h e response i n terms o f a l l
t h e s i n g u l a r i t i e s i n t h e complex frequency plane. Besides p o l e s , such singu-
l a r i t i e s m i g h t i n c l u d e branch p o i n t s and a s s o c i a t e d i n t e g r a l s , e s s e n t i a l s i n g u -
l a r i t i e s , and ( f o r completeness) e n t i r e f u n c t i o n ( s ) c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o any
singularities a t infinity.

C o n c e n t r a t i n g on t h e p o l e s i t was observed t h a t , except f o r p o l e s i n t h e

e x c i t i n g waveform ( t r a n s f o r m e d ) , these were t h e n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s o f t h e
s c a t t e r e r o r antenna because i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n s d e s c r i b i n g t h e o b j e c t response
would a d m i t n o n - t r i v i a l responses a t such f r e q u e n c i e s w i t h no e x c i t a t i o n . Said
a n o t h e r way, t h e response a t an o b j e c t p o l e i s i n f i n i t e i f t h e e x c i t a t i o n i s
non-zero a t such a complex frequency. I n t e r p r e t i n g (1.2) i n t h i s 'sense g i v e s

<?(;.;I ;so)
+ +
; j a ( r l )> = 8 , sa :n a t u r a l . frequency
t +
, J (r) n a t u r a l mode c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o s
a a
o r f r o m (1.5) i n MOM f o r m

which g i v e s a way o f computing n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s . N o t i n g t h a t t h e m a t r i x i s

s i n g u l a r (and hence so i s i t s transpose) we can w r i t e

, F.,
* ~ a r r i n ~ t o n R. F i e l d Computation by Moment Methods, Macmil l a n , 1968.

t ~ o i n t S p e c i a l I s s u e on t h e N u c l e a r E l e c t r o m a g n e t i c Pulse, IEEE Trans. Antennas

and Propagation, AP-26, Jan 1978, and IEEE Trans. EMC, EMC-20, Feb 1978.
 THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD 355

+ +
v,(r) :c o u p l i n g mode corresponding t o sa
where the use o f t h e c o u p l i n g mode w i l l become c l e a r l a t e r . F o r t h e common
case o f a synnnetric k e r n e l (as i n t h e E - f i e l d o r impedance i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n )
the c o u p l i n g mode can be s e t equal t o t h e n a t u r a l mode. The c h o i c e o f a n o r -
m a l i z a t i o n f o r these modes i s somewhat a r b i t r a r y .

Having e q u a t i o n s f o r t h e n a t u r a l frequencies and modes t h e n c o n s t r u c t a

s o l u t i o n i n the form
3 -+ -+ +
U(r,s) = 1
qOj,(r)(s -
s,)-' + other singularity terns
a
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:n o r m a l i z e d ( d e l t a - f u n c t i o n ) response t o i n c i d e n t o r source f i e l d
-1--1 T(+,s)
Eo f ( s ) r
, ij, 5 coupling c o e f f i c i e n t (2.4)
5(;,5) = E~?(S)S(:.S)
7(s) 5 i n c i d e n t o r source waveform ( L a p l a c e transformed)

E z s c a l i n g amplitude f o r i n c i d e n t waveform
0
where t h e p o s t u l a t e d c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t c o n t a i n s t h e s p a t i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
o f t h e i n c i d e n t f i e l d . Here f i r s t o r d e r poles have been assumed, a l t h o u g h
h i g h e r o r d e r p o l e s can be i n c l u d e d . One can a l s o i n c l u d e t h e i n c i d e n t waveform
i n t h e p o l e r e s i d u e s as
S(;,s) = Eo 1 f ( s , ) ; i ~ ~ ( ~ ) ( s- 5J-l + o t h e r s i n g u l a r i t y terms (2.5)
a
T h i s was t h e general s t a t e o f knowledge on t h i s s u b j e c t when i n September
1971 a s p e c i a l m e e t i n g was h e l d a t Northrop Corporate L a b o r a t o r i e s o f f i c e i n
Pasadena. C a l i f o r n i a . Many prominent e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c s p e c i a l i s t s p a r t i c i p a t e d
i n t h i s d i s c u s s i o n o f SEM. The b a s i c concepts were presented as o u t l i n e d above
t o s t i m u l a t e b a s i c ideas and p o t e n t i a l a p p l i c a t i o n t o areas such as EMP data
analysis, target i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , equivalent c i r c u i t s , etc.

2.2 E v a l u a t i o n o f t h e Coupling C o e f f i c i e n t

I n l a t e 1971 a key d i s c o v e r y was made i n t h a t formulae f o r the c o u p l i n g

c o e f f i c i e n t were developed i n terms o f t h e i n t e g r a l - e q u a t i o n terms i n (1.2).
T h i s was done independently w i t h d i f f e r e n t approaches by Baum [3.1] and by
M a r i n and Latham [3.7]. The d e t a i l s o f these d e r i v a t i o n s need n o t concern us
here as t h e y were r a t h e r i n v o l v e d . Subsequent papers have simp1 i f i e d t h i s somewhat.
-
N o t i n g t h a t t h e k e r n e l F a n d normalized i n c i d e n t o r source f i e l d

a r e a n a l y t i c f u n c t i o n s o f s near sa, expand them i n a power s e r i e s i n s .s, -

C o l l e c t i n g terms and a p p l y i n g t h e c o u p l i n g v e c t o r l e a d s t o t h e c l a s s 1 c o u p l i n g
coefficient
 356 C. E. BAUM

where t h e t u r n - o n t i m e to can be a f u n c t i o n o f t h e observer p o s i t i o n 'F. An

a l t e r n a t e form i s t h e c l a s s 2 c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t which r e s u l t s f r o m f i r s t
f i n d ' n $he SEM r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ( t r i c t ) o f f - 1 and t h e n as i n (1.4) o p e r a t i n g
13
on 7 n ( r 4 ,s) w i t h t h e p o l e s o f giving
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u
where t h e t u r n - o n t i m e to can here be a f u n c t i o n o f b o t h 'F and ;'. See [2.1]
f o r a more complete d e r i v a t i o n .

The two c l a s s e s o f c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s have some s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r -

ences. Except f o r a d e l a y f a c t o r t h e c l a s s 1 f o r m i s p a r t i c u l a r l y simple, b e i n g
independent o f s, so t h a t i n t i m e domain t h e n o r m a l i z e d response i n (2.4) t a k e s
the form
++ (o)+ Sat
( ) = 6 J
-+

e u(t - t o ) + o t h e r s i n g u l a r i t y terms (2.9)

a
Here t h e c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t a t s = s, is

so t h a t b o t h c l a s s e s reduce t o t h e same t h i n g a t t h e p o l e ( s = s,). While the

c l a s s 1 f o r m g i v e s s i m p l e damped s i n u s o i d s t h e c l a s s 2 f o r m g i v e s a c o n v o l u t i o n

-
as
+ -r sat
U(r,t) = 1 ja('F)n:)o[e u ( t ) ] + o t h e r s i n g u l a r i t y terms
a'
o convolution w i t h respect t o time

A t l a t e times t h e time-domain p o l e terms i n (2.9) and (2.11) g i v e t h e same

s i m p l e damped s i n u s o i d s . F o r to = 0 i n c l a s s 2, and to ( t y p i c a l l y used) i n
c l a s s 1 chosen on o r b e f o r e t h e wave reaches t h e s c a t t e r e r , c l a s s 1 and c l a s s 2
g i v e i d e n t i c a l p o l e terms a f t e r t h e wave passes t h e body. There a r e numerous
d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g t h e p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e two c l a s s e s o m i t t e d here. A r e c e n t
paper goes i n t o t h i s t o p i c i n g r e a t e r depth [3.5].
 THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD 357

2.3 Example Problems

Now t h a t t h e f l o o d g a t e s were open numerous i n v e s t i g a t o r s c o n s i d e r e d s p e c i -

f i c f i n i t e - s i z e s c a t t e r e r s i n f r e e space. The e a r l y examples were t h e sphere
( a n a l y t i c a l l y ) [3.1], the t h i n w i r e (approximate) [4.26], and t h e t h i n w i r e by
numerical (MOM) computation [4.48]. The reader can c o n s u l t t h e b i b 1 i o g r a p h y i n
t h i s s p e c i a l i s s u e f o r many more examples. A review book c h a p t e r b y t h i s a u t h o r
(2.11 sunmarizes most o f t h e e a r l y examples o f t h i s type.

3. LATER DEVELOPMENTS
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3.1 N a t u r a l Modes f o r Radiated o r S c a t t e r e d F i e l d s

An e a r l y e x t e n s i o n o f t h e SEM concepts was t o go from t h e c u r r e n t s and

charges on an o b j e c t t o t h e r a d i a t e d o r s c a t t e r e d f i e l d s i n the space surround-
i n g t h e o b j e c t . I n 1973 t h e r e were papers by Tesche [4.49] c o n c e r n i n g t h e
numerical c a l c u l a t i o n o f t h e f a r f i e l d s from l i n e a r antennas i n terms o f n a t u r a l
modes, and by Baum [3.3] concerning t h e f o r m a l i s m o f such n a t u r a l modes f o r n e a r
and f a r f i e l d s . These r e s u l t s e s t a b l i s h e d a concept o f t r a n s i e n t antenna ( o r
s c a t t e r e r ) p a t t e r n s i n terms o f n a t u r a l frequencies, modes, and c o u p l i n g
coefficients.

3.2 A n a l y s i s o f Experimental Data

Since t h e o r i g i n a l impetus toward SEM came from o b s e r v a t i o n s o f t h e gen-

e r a l p r o p e r t i e s o f the t r a n s i e n t e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c response o f systems, i t i s
understandable t h a t t h e general SEM t h e o r y should be a p p l i e d t o such experimen-
t a l data. C e r t a i n SEM parameters a r e i n p r i n c i p l e e x p e r i m e n t a l l y observable.
I n 1974 a paper (USNC/URSI meeting, Boulder, Colorado, October 1974, l a t e r i n
[5.16]) by VanBlaricum and M i t t r a a p p l i e d t h e Prony technique t o t r a n s i e n t EM
s c a t t e r i n g waveforms t o f i n d t h e n a t u r a l frequencies and r e s i d u e s b y f i t t i n g
t h e waveform w i t h a sum o f damped s i n u s o i d s . Since then many i n v e s t i g a t o r s
have t r i e d v a r i o u s o t h e r techniques i n attempts t o i n c r e a s e s p e e d o f c o m p u t a t i o n ,
m i n i m i z e t h e e f f e c t o f n o i s e i n t h e waveform, and maximize the accuracy i n
d e t e r m i n i n g t h e t r u e p o l e s i n t h e s c a t t e r i n g data.

3.3 Eigenmode Expansion Method (EEM)

I n 1975 t h i s a u t h o r i n t r o d u c e d t h e eigenmode expansion method t o f i n d more

p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e SEM [3.4]. One d e f i n e s eigenvalues and eigenmodes f o r t h e
i n t e g r a l o p e r a t o r ( k e r n e l ) i n (1.2) v i a

<W;,;';s) := i +
jB(rl,s)> = i6(s)SB(;,s)

5 5
j6(;,s) = r i g h t eigenmode ,0
p (;,s)
= l e f t eigenmode

U n l i k e t h e n a t u r a l modes t h e eigenmodes can be g e n e r a l l y b i o r t h o n o r m a l i z e d as

1 f o r B1 = B2

0 otherwise
 358 C. E. BAUM

g i v i n g t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s f o r t h e k e r n e l (and i t s i n v e r s e )
+,.
'7- n +
(r,r ,s) = L S. +
i~(~)J~(r,s)~,(;~,s)
B
and t h e response

While t h e r e a r e v a r i o u s mathematical problems t o be c o n s i d e r e d c o n c e r n i n g

completeness, r o o t vectors, sense o f convergence, e t c . , t h e r e a r e some a p p r o x i -
mate ways t o view t h i s m a t t e r . C a s t i n g t h e i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n ( 1 . 2 ) i n t o m a t r i x
(MOM) numerical form as i n ( l . S ) , t h e EEM i s c o n s i d e ~ e das a problem o f f i n d i n g
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t h e eigenvalues and l e f t and r i g h t e i g e n v e c t o r s o f ( r

n ,m ( s ) ) .
Summarizing some o f t h e SEM r e l a t e d r e s u l t s we have

so t h a t t h e n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s a r e zeros o f p a r t i c u l a r e i g e n v a l u e s (hence
a + ( B , B ' ) ) , so t h a t t h e eigenvalues o r d e r o r p a r t i t i o n t h e s e t o f n a t u r a l f r e -
quencies. S i m i l a r l y f o r t h e modes ( w i t h a p p r o p r i a t e n o r m a l i z a t i o n s )

For t h e denominator i n t h e ' c o u p l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s we have

which a l l o w s us t o r e p r e s e n t c l a s s 1 ( i n ( 2 . 7 ) ) and c l a s s 2 ( i n 2 . 8 ) ) i n t e n s
o f EEM q u a n t i t i e s .

Another a p p l i c a t i o n o f EEM i s t o t h e s y n t h e s i s o f t r a n s i e n t responses v i a

chan i n g t h e eigenvalues. Eigenimpedance s y n t h e s i s c o n s i d e r s t h e eigenvalues
P
Z,( s o f t h e impedance ( o r E - f i e l d ) i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n and n o t e s t h a t , i f t h e
s c a t t e r e r o r antenna i s impedance loaded i n c e r t a i n ways ( Z L ( s ) ) , t h e eigen-
impedances a r e m o d i f i e d as

which a l l o w s one t o s y n t h e s i z e a f Q ( s ) t o move t h e n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s s6 84 t o

o t h e r more d e s i r a b l e p o s i t i o n s i n t h e complex s plane. These EEM m a t t e r s ' a r e
n e c e s s a r i l y q u i t e a b b r e v i a t e d here. More complete r e v i e w s a r e i n c l u d e d i n
[2.2,2.3]. Of s p e c i a l n o t e i s t h e r e c e n t e x t e n s i o n o f Sancer e t a l . [3.11] i n
which t h e eigenmodes o f t h e "pseudosymmetric" H - f i e l d i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n a r e
p a i r e d w i t h corresponding eigenvalues ( n o r m a l i z e d ) adding t o 1.0.

3.4 Target I d e n t i f i c a t i o n

I n t h e o r i g i n a l development o f t h e SEM concept ( s e c t i o n 2.1) i t was n o t e d

t h a t t h e n a t u r a l frequencies o f a s c a t t e r e r were independent o f t h e e x c i t i n g
f i e l d s . T h i s was c o n s i d e r e d a p o t e n t i a l l y u s e f u l p r o p e r t y f o r t a r g e t i d e n t i f i -
c a t i o n purposes. I n 1975 two groups p u b l i s h e d papers p r o p o s i n g t e c h n i q u e s f o r
 THE SINGULARITY EXPANSION METHOD 359

t h i s general k i n d o f t a r g e t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , * based on work d a t i n g from about

1974. Another group? gave a spoken paper on t h i s s u b j e c t i n 1975 a l s o . T h i s
was a l s o about t h e t i m e (1975) o f t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e concept o f eigenimpe-
dance s y n t h e s i s f o r m o d i f y i n g t h e p o l e p a t t e r n i n t h e s p l a n e t o make t h e
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n more d i f f i c u l t [ 3 . 4 ] .

3.5 E q u i v a l e n t C i r c u i t s f o r Antennas and S c a t t e r e r s

I n 1976 t h i s a u t h o r showed how t o c o n s t r u c t formal e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u i t s a t

an a n t e n n a / s c a t t e r e r p o r t from t h e SEM r e p r e s e n t a t i o n [4.3]. A review o f t h i s
development i s i n c l u d e d i n 12.31. The key t o t h i s development i s t o n o t e t h a t
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t h e admittance and s h o r t - c i r c u i t c u r r e n t ( o r t h e impedance and o p e n - c i r c u i t

v o l t a g e ) have t h e same p o l e l o c a t i o n s i n t h e s p l a n e because t h e y have the same
i n t e g r a l - e q u a t i o n o p e r a t o r ; o n l y t h e source f i e l d s a r e d i f f e r e n t . For t h e
s h o r t - c i r c u i t boundary v a l u e problem t h i s leads t o a p a r a l l e l combination o f
s e r i e s "resonantN c i r c u i t s w i t h s e r i e s v o l t a g e sources. F o r t h e o p e n - c i r c u i t
boundary value problem one has t h e d u a l s i t u a t i o n o f a s e r i e s combination o f
p a r a l l e l "resonant" c i r c u i t s w i t h p a r a l l e l c u r r e n t sources. More r e c e n t i n v e s -
t i g a t i o n s have c e n t e r e d on c a n o n i c a l problems f o r e x p l o r i n g t h e r e a l i z a b i l i t y
o f such networks. R e s u l t s have been o b t a i n e d by Pearson e t a1 [4.33, 4.34. .
4.391. S i n g a r a j u and Baum [4.2], and Sharpe and Roussi [4.44a].

3.6 C a l c u l a t i o n o f N a t u r a l Frequencies

I n i t i a l computations o f t h e n a t u r a l frequencies from t h e MOM m a t r i x d e t e r -

minant i n ( 2 . 2 ) were by c l a s s i c a l Newton and M u l l e r z e r o - s e a r c h i n g techniques
[5.3]. F o l l o w i n g an e a r l y paper i n 1974 [5.1], Baum, G i r i , and S i n g a r a j u d e v e l -
oped c o n t o u r i n t e g r a l techniques i n c l u d i n g computer programs t o e f f i c i e n t l y and
a c c u r a t e l y compute a l l t h e n a t u r a l frequencies i n a g i v e n p o r t i o n o f t h e s p l a n e
[5.15,5.7]. T h i s i s a l s o reviewed i n [2.3]. Also o f i n t e r e s t i s t h e v a r i a t i o n a l
technique based on EEM concepts proposed by M i t t r a and Pearson [5.10].

3.7 Fora and Reviews

An i m p o r t a n t m i l e s t o n e i n SEM development was t h e f i r s t s p e c i a l session a t

a USNC/URSI meeting i n Boulder, Colorado, August 1973. Since t h a t t i m e t h e r e
have been many SEM sessions a t t h e v a r i o u s USNC/URSI meetings and IEEE Antennas
and Propagation symposia. Reviews on t h e s u b j e c t have been g i v e n a t the t r i -
e n n i a l URSI General Assemblies b e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e one i n Lima, Peru, i n 1975.
This a u t h o r has w r i t t e n t h r e e m a j o r review papers and book c h a p t e r s on t h i s
s u b j e c t r2.1-2.31; these can be c o n s u l t e d f o r more complete developments and
numerous references. A review [2.4] by Dolph and S c o t t t r e a t s some o f the
a p p l i c a b l e mathematical t h e o r y . Now SEM has reached another m i l e s t o n e w i t h t h e

*
Pearson, L.W., M.L. VanBlaricum, and R. M i t t r a , A New Method f o r Radar T a r g e t
R e c o g n i t i o n Based on t h e S i n g u l a r i t y Expansion Method, Record o f IEEE I n t e r -
n a t i o n a l Radar Conference, A r l i n g t o n , V i r g i n i a , A p r i 1 1975, pp. 452-457.

M o f f a t t , D.L., and R.K. Mains, D e t e c t i o n and D i s c r i m i n a t i o n o f Radar Targets,

IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, May 1975, pp. 358-367.

t ~ e a d r i c k , FcJ., H.G. Hudson, E.K. M i l l e r , J.A. Landt, and A. J. Poggio, O b j e c t

I d e n t i f i c a t i o n v i a Pole E x t r a c t i o n f r o m T r a n s i e n t F i e l d s , USNC/URSI Meeting,
U. o f I l l i n o i s , 3-5 June 1975, p. 67.
 C. E. BAUM

r e c e n t symposium: "Mathematical Foundations o f t h e S i n g u l a r i t y Expansion

Method," U n i v e r s i t y o f Kentucky, November 1980. This s p e c i a l SEM i s s u e i s t h e
proceedings of t h a t symposium.

4. CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT

Quo ,vadimus? Quo v a d i t SEM? i h e s e a r e d i f f i c u l t q u e s t i o n s . SEM i s c u r -

r e n t l y b e i n g pursued on two l e v e l s . F i r s t t h e r e i s t h e e n g i n e e r i n g t h e o r y and
a p p l i c a t i o n s o r i e n t e d t o meeting t h e p r a c t i c a l needs o f t r a n s i e n t and broadband
EM a p p l i c a t i o n s such as EMP, 1 i g h t n i n g , and t a r g e t ' i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . T h i s i s
even f i n d i n g a p p l i c a t i o n i n a c o u s t i c t a r g e t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n (see U b e r a l l and
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Gaunard r e f e r e n c e s , t h i s i s s u e ) . I t i s these a p p l i c a t i o n s o r i e n t e d developments

t h a t I have c o n c e n t r a t e d on i n t h i s paper. On another l e v e l t h e mathematicians
a r e p u r s u i n g a r i g o r o u s e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e SEM t h e o r y w i t h a view t o d e f i n i n g
t h e p r e c i s e l i m i t s o f a p p l i c a b i l i t y . O t h e r papers i n t h i s .issue address such
points.

From an a p p l i c a t i o n s p o i n t o f view I see some i m p o r t a n t areas, b o t h t h e o -

r e t i c a l and e x p e r i m e n t a l , f o r f u t u r e development. F o r e x p e r i m e n t a l d e s c r i p t i o n
o f complex e l e c t r o n i c equipment we need t o a p p l y a l l o u r p o w e r f u l i n s i g h t s con-
e
c e r n i n g t h e SEM d e s c r i p t i o n t o o b t a i n i n g the SEM p o l e (and o t h e r ) param-
e t e r s from the e x p e r i m e n t a l s c a t t e r i n g ( o r i n t e r a c t i o n ) data. Using ( 2 . 5 ) ( i n
frequency and/or t i m e domains) one can use t h e f a c t o r i n g o f t h e p o l e terms t o
e x h i b i t t h e dependence o f t h e response on t h e v a r i o u s separate parameters o f
t h e s c a t t e r i n g problem. T h i s g i v e s a much more compact r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e
d a t a ( i n t h e resonant r e g i o n ) a l l o w i n g one t o much more r e a d i l y see t h e impor-
t a n t f e a t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g w o r s t cases, e t c . o f t h e response. T h i s f a c t o r i z a t i o n
can a l s o l i k e l y be used t o more a c c u r a t e l y e v a l u a t e the SEM parameters by hav-
i n g ( 2 . 5 ) s i m u l t a n e o u s l y f i t many data r e c o r d s corresponding t o d i f f e r e n t l o c a -
t i o n s and e x c i t a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s .

The c o n s t r u c t i o n o f e q u i v a l e n t c i r c u i t s needs much more development.

A l t e r n a t e canonical forms (such as l a d d e r networks, e t c . ) need t o be developed.
Perhaps o t h e r expansions such as a low-frequency expansion [2.2] c o u l d . be use-
f u l i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h SEM and EEM. Both a deeper understanding o f SEM/EEM
decomposition o f s c a t t e r e r response, and more accurate and e f f i c i e n t o b t a i n i n g
o f these parameters from experimental d a t a , a r e needed f o r ' t h e t a r g e t i d e n t i f i -
c a t i o n problem. T h i s area has a v e r y g r e a t p r a c t i c a l p o t e n t i a l .