Refraction and diffraction of waves in natural crystals and artificial crystals formed by anisotropically scattering centers are considered. A detailed study of the electromagnetic wave refraction in a two-dimensional photonic crystal formed by paral
lel threads is given by way of example. The expression is derived for the effective amplitude of wave scattering by a thread (in a crystal) for the case when scattering by a single thread in a vacuum is anisotropic. It is established that for a wave with orthogonal polarization, unlike a wave with parallel polarization, the index of refraction in crystals built from metallic threads can be greater than unity, and Vavilov-Chrernkov radiation becomes possible in them. The set of equations describing the dynamical diffraction of waves in crystals is derived for the case when scattering by a single center in a vacuum is anisotropic. Because a most general approach is applied to the description of the scattering process, the results thus obtained are valid for a wide range of cases without being restricted to either electromagnetic waves or crystals built from threads.
