We consider the effect of different approximations to the dielectric function of a silver sphere on the absorption of light by two-dimensional and three-dimensional periodic and non-periodic arrays of non-overlapping silver spheres in a host dielectric medium. We also present some results on the band structure and the absorption coefficient of light by photonic crystals consisting of non-overlapping silver-coated spheres in a dielectric medium.

We develop a two-stage multiple-scattering formalism for the calculation of photonic bands generated by chains of defects in photonic crystals consisting of nonoverlapping spheres, and for the calculation of the transmission of light through straight and bent waveguides of such chains. We apply the method to a specific example which demonstrates that transmission through a bent waveguide occurs with the same efficiency as for a straight waveguide.

Using the multiple-scattering formalism we developed in a previous work, and extended here, we analyze available experimental data on the transmission of longitudinal waves in the system: water-slab of polyester-water, the slab of polyester having a plane of glass or lead or steel spheres in the middle. The theoretical results reproduce accurately the measured spectra and provide a transparent physical picture of the underlying processes. In particular, the dips in the observed spectra are attributed to multiple wave scattering between the spheres, and are related to hybridization-induced gaps in the frequency band structure of the longitudinal elastic modes of a corresponding infinite crystal.

We report on the occurrence of absolute elastic band gaps in three-dimensional binary systems made up of steel spheres in polyester, and examine how the width of such gaps depends on the geometry of the structure.