A surface wave interpretation for the resonances of a dielectric sphere

The calculated radar and bistatic cross sections of dielectric spheres exhibit numerous resonances when plotted versus frequency. These resonances may be related to the excitation of electromagnetic eigenvibrations of the sphere, with resonance frequencies calculable from a characteristic equation. It is shown that the resonances may be viewed as originating from families of circumferential (surface, or creeping) waves that are generated during the scattering process; at each eigenfrequency of the sphere, one of these surface waves matches phases after its repeated circumnavigations around the sphere, with the ensuing resonant reinforcement leading to the given scattering resonance. This mechanism explains the existence of electromagnetic eigenvibrations of a general smooth dielectric object; for the case of a sphere, it is shown that the surface waves suffer a phase jump of at each of their two convergence points. We calculated numerical values of the eigenfrequencies of dielectric spheres, and obtain dispersion curves for the phase velocities of the surface waves.