“Electromagnetic and Optical Pulse Propagation” (Kurt E. Oughstun, 2009) [Reviews and Abstracts]

In this article, Prof. Kurt Oughstun of the University of Vermont has remarkably combined mathematical rigor and the presentation of cutting edge engineering applications with a captivating and eloquent writing style in this thorough two-volume treatise on the theory of pulse propagation in temporally dispersive media. This is an advanced graduate textbook. It provides a substantial extension on the theory side and a refreshing update on the applications side to its successful predecessor, Electromagnetic Pulse Propagation in Causal Dielectrics, by Oughstun and Sherman. Both volumes are addressed to a wide audience of students and researchers in electromagnetics and optics, especially those involved with either guided or radiated ultra-wideband pulse fields and their interaction with natural or artificial media. Not only does this work provide a solid-theoretical foundation for ultra-wideband pulse-propagation studies, but it also points to interesting directions of applied research in the second volume. However, by itself the first volume is an excellent resource for electromagnetic theory fundamentals. It can well serve as a reference text for a one-semester advanced electromagnetic theory course at the graduate level. Volume 1 is about the spectral representations in temporally dispersive media and Volume 2 is temporal pulse dynamics in dispersive, attenuative media.