Summing Pauli asymptotic series to solve the wedge problem

The use of the asymptotic treatment for the wedge diffraction problem established long ago by Pauli [Phys. Rev. 54, 924 (1938)] is here revisited and proposed in the character of a powerful computational tool for accurately retrieving the total electromagnetic field even in the near zone. After proving its factorial divergent character, the Pauli series is summed through the Weniger transformation, a nonlinear resummation scheme particularly efficient in the case of factorial divergence. Numerical results are carried out to show the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.