Nonradiating and minimum energy sources and their fields: generalized source inversion theory and applications

A new general framework for characterizing scalar and electromagnetic (EM) nonradiating (NR) and minimum energy (ME) sources and their fields is developed that is of interest for both radiation and source reconstruction problems. NR sources are characterized in connection with the concept of reciprocity as nonreceptors. Localized ME sources are shown to be free fields truncated within the source's support. A new source analysis tool is developed that is based on the decomposition of a source and its field into their radiating and NR components. The individual radiating and reactive energy roles of the radiating and NR parts of a source are characterized. The general theory is illustrated with a time-harmonic EM example.