%0 Journal Article %T Effective equations for photonic-crystal waveguides and circuits %A Sergei F. Mingaleev %A Yuri S. Kivshar %J Physics %D 2001 %I arXiv %R 10.1364/OL.27.000231 %X We suggest a novel conceptual approach for describing the properties of waveguides and circuits in photonic crystals, based on the effective discrete equations that include the long-range interaction effects. We demonstrate, on the example of sharp waveguide bends, that our approach is very effective and accurate for the study of bound states and transmission spectra of the photonic-crystal circuits, and disclose the importance of evanescent modes in their properties. %U http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0110068v1