Velocity and attenuation of scalar and elastic waves in random media: a spectral function approach

This paper investigates the scattering of scalar and elastic waves in two-phase materials and single-mineral-cubic, hexagonal, orthorhombic-polycrystalline aggregates with randomly oriented grains. Based on the Dyson equation for the mean field, explicit expressions for the imaginary part of Green's function in the frequency-wavenumber domain (ω, p), also known as the spectral function, are derived. This approach allows the identification of propagating modes with their relative contribution, and the computation of both attenuation and phase velocity for each mode. The results should be valid from the Rayleigh (low-frequency) to the geometrical optics (high-frequency) regime. Comparisons with other approaches are presented for both scalar and elastic waves.