Convergence analysis for buffered block forward-backward (BBFB) method applied to EFIE

The efficient solution of the matrix equation ZJ = V produced when the method of moments is applied to the electric field integral equation (EFIE) is a central topic in computational electromagnetics. While the most commonly used solvers are those based upon the generation of Krylov sub-spaces, other iterative solvers have been proposed most notably the forward-backward method. Applying block forward-backward methods to open bodies using the EFIE requires a modification of the standard approach, to prevent the solution from diverging due to the introduction of spurious edge effects. A modified block forward-backward method has been developed for application to scattering from open bodies. This method is referred to as the `buffered block forward backward' (BBFB) method. This paper discusses the development of convergence criteria for the BBFB and presents the numerical work comparing its convergence to that of a Krylov subspace method for a series of problems