Comparison between edge diffraction processes

An analysis of the diffraction processes at a wedge in the geometrical theory of diffraction is presented. In the case where one wave mode can propagate outside a nonideally conducting wedge we show that the diffracted field can be viewed as consisting of a "nonreflected contribution" and a "reflected contribution." A generalization method from the one-mode case to the case where two modes of propagation exist outside the wedge is proposed. By means of this procedure we may construct the diffraction coefficients obtained by Labianca and Felsen for a conducting half-plane in a compressible plasma. The application of two-dimensional results to three-dimensional problems is summarized.