Elastic Waves at High Frequencies

John G. Harris intended to explain in this book the special techniques that are required to model the radiation and diffraction of elastic and surface waves. Sadly, he died before he could fulfill this ambition, but his plan has been brought to fruition by a team of his distinguished collaborators.

The book begins with the basic underlying equations for wave motion and then builds upon this foundation by solving a number of fundamental scattering problems. The remaining chapters provide a thorough introduction to modern techniques that have proven essential to understanding radiation and diffraction at high frequencies.

Graduate students, researchers, and professionals in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering will find that the chapters increase in complexity, beginning with plane-wave propagation and spectral analyses. Other topics include elastic wave theory, solutions to canonical scattering problems using asymptotic approximations to Fourier integrals, reciprocity identities, the Wiener-Hopf technique, integral formulations of scattering from cracks, scanned acoustic imaging, the effects of viscosity on acoustic diffraction, and the phenomenon of channeling of wave energy along guided structures.

This series was established in 1952 as a medium for the publication of major new works of scholarship on all aspects of theoretical and applied mechanics. From its inception it has maintained a reputation for the publication of outstanding monographs, many of which have later been reissued in paperback. The series covers such areas as wave propagation, fluid dynamics, theoretical geophysics, combustion, and the mechanics of solids. Authors are encouraged to write for a wide audience and to balance mathematical analysis with physical interpretation and experimental data where appropriate. Although the research literature is expected to be a major source for the content of the books, authors should aim to synthesize new results rather than just survey them.