Absorbing boundary conditions for the finite element solution of the vector wave equation

Abstract

Abstract Time‐harmonic electromagnetic field problems in unbounded space may be solved by the finite element method applied inside a sphere which contains the region of interest, providing a suitable boundary condition is imposed on the surface of the sphere. The boundary condition must have the effect of absorbing out‐going waves. A new second‐order absorbing boundary condition (ABC) is proposed, similar to that introduced by Peterson [1], but capable of being incorporated in a variational principle and consequently leading to symmetric finite‐element matrices.