Workshop MWSW03 — Computational methods for multiple scattering

The accurate and efficient numerical modelling of waves interacting with complex scattering geometries is crucial for a wide range of engineering and science applications, including electromagnetic/photonic/acoustic/elastodynamic imaging and device/material design. The multiple scattering regime — i.e. wave scattering scenarios in which there are multiple interactions — includes strong scattering by multiple obstacles, periodic structures, media with variable refractive index, waveguides, random media, and non-convex obstacles. This brings special computational challenges since perturbative and one-way approximations do not apply, and ray methods usually suffer from exponential proliferation. Conventional PDE solvers are also inadequate, particularly at high frequencies, and/or when the propagation domain is highly heterogeneous (containing many scatterers, a highly variable refractive index or geometric singularities).

The aim of this workshop is to bring together researchers working on computational methods for multiple scattering and to explore possible connections and common challenges between the different communities involved.

Topics: - novel discretization techniques based on numerical homogenisation, integral equation methods, finite element methods (including Trefftz methods), and semi-analytic and generalised eigenfunction methods; - acceleration techniques including preconditioning, matrix compression (including H-matrices and the fast multipole method), domain decomposition and fast direct solvers; - robust and efficient software implementations