# The discrete dipole approximation for light-scattering simulations

Maxim A. Yurkin

► To cite this version:

Maxim A. Yurkin. The discrete dipole approximation for light-scattering simulations. Laser-light and Interactions with Particles (LIP 2024), Xidian University, Sep 2024, Xi'an, China. pp.keynote 06. hal-05060866

HAL Id: hal-05060866

https://hal.science/hal-05060866v1

Submitted on 14 May 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
**Keynote Lecture:**

The discrete dipole approximation for light-scattering
simulations

**Speaker:**

Maxim A. Yurkin, CORIA, University of Rouen Normandy

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**Abstract:**

Light scattering is widely used in remote sensing of various objects ranging from metal nanoparticles and macromolecules to atmospheric aerosols and interstellar dust, being in some cases the only available approach to characterize their geometric or optical properties. All these applications require accurate simulations, which are not trivial for particles of arbitrary shape and internal structure. The discrete dipole approximation (DDA) is one of the general methods to handle such problems. In this talk I will start with an introduction to the DDA, including both the basic underlying physical picture and rigorous derivation starting from the integral form of Maxwell's equation for the electric field. The latter shows that the DDA is a numerically exact method and a special case of volume-discretization method of moments. Importantly, the DDA applies to almost any electromagnetic problem involving non-magnetic particles. It can handle arbitrary shaped beams, particles in complicated environments (e.g., on a multi-layered substrate), and simulate a broad range of quasi-classical electromagnetic phenomena (such as emission enhancement, near-field radiative heat transfer, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy). I will also discuss computational aspects, including the latest efficiency improvements, and the existing open-source DDA codes that largely explain the method's popularity. Finally, I will highlight current capabilities and limitations (open questions) of the DDA.

**Biography:**

Maxim A. Yurkin received his BS and MS degrees in physics from the Novosibirsk State University (NSU) with honors (2002, 2004), and dual PhD in computer science and biophysics from the University of Amsterdam and Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion (ICKC, Novosibirsk), respectively (2007). Currently, he is a CNRS researcher (Chair of Excellence by Normandy Region) at CORIA, University of Rouen Normandy. His research interests include the theory and simulations of electromagnetic scattering, the discrete dipole approximation (DDA), and inverse light-scattering problems. Specifically, he has made multiple important contributions to the theory and numerical efficiency of the DDA, and is the main developer of the open-source ADDA code. He received inaugural Young Scientist's Award in electromagnetic and light scattering from Elsevier (2007) and two Prizes of the Academia Europaea for Russian young scientists (2010, 2016).