MAS vs. MoM for Electromagnetic Scattering from a PEC Cylinder: A Comparative Study of Stability, Accuracy, and Computational Cost

Frequency domain methods used in electromagnetic analyses, such as the Method of Auxiliary Sources (MAS) and the various Moment Methods (MoM), share many similarities but have notable differences in terms of numerical stability, accuracy, and computational cost. Computational cost differs from algorithmic complexity, which is easier to define. Consequently, it is rarely analyzed systematically in numerical studies. To this end, this work deals with the canonical problem of electromagnetic scattering from an externally excited circular cylinder of infinite conductivity and applies both MAS and MoM in order to assess their solutions and behaviors from the aforementioned perspectives. This problem is solved by meticulously applying MAS and two popular variants of MoM to achieve comparable stability and accuracy. Then, the methods are compared in terms of the associated computational cost, not only in solving the ensuing matrix equations, but also in computing the near and far fields at a large number of points.