Semiclassical Scattering of an Electric Dipole Source Inside a Spherical Particle

Semiclassical scattering phenomena appearing in the far-zone scattered intensity of a point source of electromagnetic radiation inside a spherical particle are examined in the context of both ray theory and wave theory, and the evolution of the phenomena is studied as a function of source position. A number of semiclassical effects that do not occur for plane-wave scattering by the sphere appear prominently for scattering by an interior source. These include a series of scattering resonances and a new family of rainbows in regions of otherwise total internal reflection. Diffractive effects accompanying the semiclassical phenomena are also examined. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.