  Arbitrary high order numerical methods for time-harmonic acoustic scattering
problems originally defined on unbounded domains are constructed. This is done
by coupling recently developed high order local absorbing boundary conditions
(ABCs) with finite difference methods for the Helmholtz equation. These ABCs
are based on exact representations of the outgoing waves by means of farfield
expansions. The finite difference methods, which are constructed from a
deferred-correction (DC) technique, approximate the Helmholtz equation and the
ABCs, with the appropriate number of terms, to any desired order. As a result,
high order numerical methods with an overall order of convergence equal to the
order of the DC schemes are obtained. A detailed construction of these DC
finite difference schemes is presented. Additionally, a rigorous proof of the
consistency of the DC schemes with the Helmholtz equation and the ABCs in polar
coordinates is also given. The results of several numerical experiments
corroborate the high order convergence of the novel method.
