Time reversal with absorbing antennas in a mode-stirred reveberation chamber

We demonstrate analytically that a single matched antenna absorbs 100% of the electromagnetic energy in a perfect time-reversal (TR) experiment. In contrast to TR with pointlike antennas, the usual diverging wave at positive times vanishes. When the antenna is not perfectly matched, the amplitude of this diverging wave relative to the converging one is equal to the impedance mismatch. This result is confirmed in measurements in a mode-stirred electromagnetic reverberation chamber. We finally discuss the impact of this result on the cross-correlation of a random wavefield with two absorbing receivers.