New aspects of the inverse source problem with far-field data

The time-dependent inverse source problem with far-field data is investigat ed within a limited-view. Radon inversion framework, analogous to that of a limited-view computed tomography reconstruction problem.. We investigate t he domains in the Radon and Fourier spaces within which data are available for the reconstruction of the space-time structure of the source. Using a l inear inversion formalism we derive a filtered back-projectionlike procedur e to reconstruct the minimum-energy source consistent with prescribed far-f ield data. The source inversion technique developed in the paper is illustr ated with a numerical example. The paper also contains a new description of nonradiating sources in the time domain. (C) 1999 Optical Society of Ameri ca [S0740-3232(99)01507-0].