Time-domain formulation of electromagnetic scattering based on a polarization-mode expansion and the principle of least action

An approach to the full wave analysis of the time evolution of the polarization induced in the electromagnetic scattering from dispersive nonmagnetic particles is presented. It is based on the combination of the Hopfield model for the polarization field, the expansion of the polarization field in terms of static longitudinal and transverse modes of the particle, the expansion of the radiation field in terms of transverse wave modes of free space, and the principle of least action. The polarization field is linearly coupled to the electromagnetic field. The losses of the matter are described thorough a linear coupling of the polarization field to a bath of harmonic oscillators with a continuous range of natural frequencies. The set of linear ordinary differential integral equations of convolution type of the overall system is reduced by eliminating both the radiation degrees of freedom and the bath degrees of freedom, and the reduced system of equations is studied. The role played by the radiation field in the coupling between the longitudinal and transverse mode amplitudes of the polarization is described. The principal characteristics of the temporal evolution of the mode amplitudes are found as the particle size varies, including the impulse response. Results are presented for the analytically solvable spherical particle. The proposed approach leads to a general method for the analysis of the temporal evolution of the polarization field induced in dispersive particles of any shape, as well as for the computation of transients and steady states.