Inverse scattering theory is a major theme in applied mathematics, with applications to such diverse areas as medical imaging, geophysical exploration, and nondestructive testing. The inverse scattering problem is both nonlinear and ill-posed, thus presenting challenges in the development of efficient inversion algorithms. A further complication is that anisotropic materials cannot be uniquely determined from given scattering data. In the first edition of Inverse Scattering Theory and Transmission Eigenvalues, the authors discussed methods for determining the support of inhomogeneous media from measured far field data and the role of transmission eigenvalue problems in the mathematical development of these methods. In this second edition, three new chapters describe recent developments in inverse scattering theory. In particular, the authors explore the use of modified background media in the nondestructive testing of materials and methods for determining the modified transmission eigenvalues that arise in such applications from measured far field data. They also examine nonscattering wave numbers-a subset of transmission eigenvalues-using techniques taken from the theory of free boundary value problems for elliptic partial differential equations and discuss the dualism of scattering poles and transmission eigenvalues that has led to new methods for the numerical computation of scattering poles. This book will be of interest to research mathematicians and engineers and physicists working on problems in target identification. It will also be useful to advanced graduate students in many areas of applied mathematics.

The inverse scattering problem is central to many areas of science and technology such as radar and sonar, medical imaging, geophysical exploration and nondestructive testing. This book is devoted to the mathematical and numerical analysis of the inverse scattering problem for acoustic and electromagnetic waves. In this third edition, new sections have been added on the linear sampling and factorization methods for solving the inverse scattering problem as well as expanded treatments of iteration methods and uniqueness theorems for the inverse obstacle problem. These additions have in turn required an expanded presentation of both transmission eigenvalues and boundary integral equations in Sobolev spaces. As in the previous editions, emphasis has been given to simplicity over generality thus providing the reader with an accessible introduction to the field of inverse scattering theory.

Review of earlier editions:

"Colton and Kress have written a scholarly, state of the art account of their view of direct and inverse scattering. The book is a pleasure to read as a graduate text or to dip into at leisure. It suggests a number of open problems and will be a source of inspiration for many years to come."

SIAM Review, September 1994

"This book should be on the desk of any researcher, any student, any teacher interested in scattering theory."

Mathematical Intelligencer, June 1994"

Inverse scattering theory is an important area of applied mathematics due to its central role in such areas as medical imaging , nondestructive testing and geophysical exploration. Until recently all existing algorithms for solving inverse scattering problems were based on using either a weak scattering assumption or on the use of nonlinear optimization techniques. The limitations of these methods have led in recent years to an alternative approach to the inverse scattering problem which avoids the incorrect model assumptions inherent in the use of weak scattering approximations as well as the strong a priori information needed in order to implement nonlinear optimization techniques. These new methods come under the general title of qualitative methods in inverse scattering theory and seek to determine an approximation to the shape of the scattering object as well as estimates on its material properties without making any weak scattering assumption and using essentially no a priori information on the nature of the scattering object. This book is designed to be an introduction to this new approach in inverse scattering theory focusing on the use of sampling methods and transmission eigenvalues. In order to aid the reader coming from a discipline outside of mathematics we have included background material on functional analysis, Sobolev spaces, the theory of ill posed problems and certain topics in in the theory of entire functions of a complex variable. This book is an updated and expanded version of an earlier book by the authors published by Springer titled Qualitative Methods in Inverse Scattering Theory Review of Qualitative Methods in Inverse Scattering Theory All in all, the authors do exceptionally well in combining such a wide variety of mathematical material and in presenting it in a well-organized and easy-to-follow fashion. This text certainly complements the growing body of work in inverse scattering and should well suit both new researchers to the field as well as those who could benefit from such a nice codified collection of profitable results combined in one bound volume. SIAM Review, 2006

Here is a clearly written introduction to three central areas of inverse problems: inverse problems in electromagnetic scattering theory, inverse spectral theory, and inverse problems in quantum scattering theory. Inverse problems, one of the most attractive parts of applied mathematics, attempt to obtain information about structures by nondestructive measurements. Based on a series of lectures presented by three of the authors, all experts in the field, the book provides a quick and easy way for readers to become familiar with the area through a survey of recent developments in inverse spectral and inverse scattering problems. In the opening chapter, Paivarinta collects the mathematical tools needed in the subsequent chapters and gives references for further study. Colton's chapter focuses on electromagnetic scattering problems. As an application he considers the problem of detecting and monitoring leukemia. Rundell's chapter deals with inverse spectral problems. He describes several exact and algorithmic methods for reconstructing an unknown function from the spectral data. Chadan provides an introduction to quantum mechanical inverse scattering problems. As an application he explains the celebrated method of Gardner, Greene, Kruskal, and Miura for solving nonlinear evolution equations such as the Korteweg_de Vries equation. Each chapter provides full references for further study.

Inverse scattering theory has been a particularly active and successful field in applied mathematics and engineering for the past twenty years. The increasing demands of imaging and target identification require new powerful and flexible techniques besides the existing weak scattering approximation or nonlinear optimization methods. One class of such methods comes under the general description of qualitative methods in inverse scattering theory. This textbook is an easily-accessible "class-tested" introduction to the field. It is accessible also to readers who are not professional mathematicians, thus making these new mathematical ideas in inverse scattering theory available to the wider scientific and engineering community.

Inverse problems are concerned with determining causes for observed or desired effects. Problems of this type appear in many application fields both in science and in engineering. The mathematical modelling of inverse problems usually leads to ill-posed problems, i.e., problems where solutions need not exist, need not be unique or may depend discontinuously on the data. For this reason, numerical methods for solving inverse problems are especially difficult, special methods have to be developed which are known under the term "regularization methods." This volume contains twelve survey papers about solution methods for inverse and ill-posed problems and about their application to specific types of inverse problems, e.g., in scattering theory, in tomography and medical applications, in geophysics and in image processing. The papers have been written by leading experts in the field and provide an up-to-date account of solution methods for inverse problems.

Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to creating effective surveys, polls, questionnaires, customer satisfaction forms, ratings, checklists, and other instruments.

Written in easy-to-understand language, this important text provides a systematic and commonsense approach to developing instruments for data collection and analysis. This book can be used by both those who are developing instruments for the first time and those who want to hone their skills, including students, agency personnel, program managers, and researchers.

This book provides a thorough presentation of instrument construction, from conception to development and pre-testing of items, formatting the instrument, administration, and, finally, data management and presentation of the findings. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize how to create an instrument that will produce trustworthy and accurate data. To that end they have included guidelines for reviewing and revising the questionnaire to enhance validity and reliability. They also show how to work effectively with stakeholders such as instrument designers, decision-makers, agency personnel, clients, and raters or respondents.

The inverse scattering problem is central to many areas of science and technology such as radar, sonar, medical imaging, geophysical exploration and nondestructive testing. This book is devoted to the mathematical and numerical analysis of the inverse scattering problem for acoustic and electromagnetic waves. In this fourth edition, a number of significant additions have been made including a new chapter on transmission eigenvalues and a new section on the impedance boundary condition where particular attention has been made to the generalized impedance boundary condition and to nonlocal impedance boundary conditions. Brief discussions on the generalized linear sampling method, the method of recursive linearization, anisotropic media and the use of target signatures in inverse scattering theory have also been added.

The linear sampling method is the oldest and most developed of the qualitative methods in inverse scattering theory. It is based on solving a linear integral equation and then using the equation's solution as an indicator function for the determination of the support of the scattering object. This book describes the linear sampling method for a variety of electromagnetic scattering problems. It presents uniqueness theorems and the derivation of various inequalities on the material properties of the scattering object from a knowledge of the far field pattern of the scattered wave. Also covered are: the approximation properties of Herglotz wave functions; the behavior of solutions to the interior transmission problem, a novel interior boundary value problem; and numerical examples of the inversion scheme.