Galerkin Boundary Element Methods for Electromagnetic Scattering

Methods based on boundary integral equations are widely used in the numerical simulation of electromagnetic scattering in the frequency domain. This article examines a particular class of these methods, namely the Galerkin boundary element approach, from a theoretical point of view. Emphasis is put on the fundamental differences between acoustic and electromagnetic scattering. The derivation of various boundary integral equations is presented, properties of their discretized counterparts are discussed, and a-priori convergence estimates for the boundary element solutions are rigorously established.