Open AccessAnalytic theory of photoacoustic wave generation from a spheroidal droplet
Author(s) -
Yong Li,
Hui Fang,
Changjun Min,
Xiaocong Yuan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.019953
Subject(s) - helmholtz equation , optics , reflection (computer programming) , physics , cylinder , helmholtz free energy , transmission (telecommunications) , wave equation , separation of variables , mathematical analysis , classical mechanics , partial differential equation , mathematics , computer science , quantum mechanics , geometry , boundary value problem , telecommunications , programming language
In this paper, we develop an analytic theory for describing the photoacoustic wave generation from a spheroidal droplet and derive the first complete analytic solution. Our derivation is based on solving the photoacoustic Helmholtz equation in spheroidal coordinates with the separation-of-variables method. As the verification, besides carrying out the asymptotic analyses which recover the standard solutions for a sphere, an infinite cylinder and an infinite layer, we also confirm that the partial transmission and reflection model previously demonstrated for these three geometries still stands. We expect that this analytic solution will find broad practical uses in interpreting experiment results, considering that its building blocks, the spheroidal wave functions (SWFs), can be numerically calculated by the existing computer programs.