Recent advances in discrete dipole approximation

I will describe recent advances and results related to Discrete Dipole Approximation. I will concentrate on Discrete Dipole Scattering (DDSCAT) code which has been jointly developed by myself and Bruce T. Draine. Discussion will concentrate on calculation of scattering and absorption by isolated particles (e.g., dust grains, ice crystals), calculations of scattering by periodic structures with applications to studies of scattering and absorption by periodic arrangement of finite cylinders, cubes, etc), very fast near field calculation, ways to display scattering targets and their composition using three dimensional graphical codes. I will discuss possible extensions. References Flatau, P. J. and Draine, B. T., 2012, Fast near field calculations in the discrete dipole approximation for regular rectilinear grids, Optics Express, 20, 1247-1252. Draine B. T. and Flatau P. J., 2008, Discrete-dipole approximation for periodic targets: theory and tests , J. Opt. Soc. Am. A., 25, 2693-2703. Draine BT and Flatau PJ, 2012, User Guide for the Discrete Dipole Approximation Code DDSCAT 7.2, arXiv:1202.3424v3.ear field calculations (Fast near field calculations in the discrete dipole approximation for regular rectilinear grids P. J. Flatau and B. T. Draine, Optics Express, Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp. 1247-1252 (2012))