A uniform asymptotic theory of electromagnetic diffraction by a curved wedge

Diffraction of an arbitrary electromagnetic optical field by a conducting curved wedge is considered. The diffracted field according to Keller's geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) can be expressed in a particularly simple form by making use of rotations of the incident and reflected fields about the edge. In this manner only a single scalar diffraction coefficient is involved. Near to shadow boundaries where the GTD solution is not valid, a uniform theory based on the Ansatz of Lewis, Boersma, and Ahluwalia is described. The dominant terms, to the order of k^{-1/2} included, are used to compute the field exactly on the shadow boundaries. In contrast with the uniform theory of Kouyoumjian and Pathak, some extra terms occur: one depends on the edge curvature and wedge angle; another on the angular rate of change of the incident or reflected field at the point of observation.