Open AccessOn the decoupling of P and S waves in inhomogeneous elastic media
Author(s) -
Ansell J. H.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1979.tb06775.x
Subject(s) - decoupling (probability) , isotropy , differentiable function , mathematical analysis , physics , homogeneous , representation (politics) , mathematics , classical mechanics , wave equation , cloak , mathematical physics , quantum mechanics , statistical physics , metamaterial , control engineering , politics , political science , law , engineering
Summary. A representation derived by Richards (1974) for P‐SV wave displacements in spherically symmetric elastic media is extended to general displacements in a general inhomogeneous isotropic elastic medium, with suitably differentiable elastic constants. This representation in terms of appropriate potentials gives rise to a partial decoupling of the P and S (weighted) displacements, which satisfy simple second order wave equations with lower order coupling terms. The highest order P and S components satisfy homogeneous wave equations that depend only on the P and S velocities α and β respectively and are unaffected by the density other than at the source and observer positions.