Abstract

The applicability and domains of validity for the Born and the Rytov methods in scattering theory are established, with mathematical rigor, by comparing successive terms of the Born and the Rytov series calculated for wave propagation in a homogeneous dielectric half-space and a homogeneous dielectric slab for which the permittivities are assumed to have a low contrast over that of free space. While the (first-order) Rytov approximation is superior to the (first-order) Born approximation when it is applied to estimate the scattered field in the homogeneous dielectric half-space, both approximations are inapplicable to estimate the scattered fields when the dielectric slab is thick.

© 1992 Optical Society of America

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