Delivering sound energy along an arbitrary convex trajectory

Area of Science:

• Acoustics
• Wave Physics
• Optics (by analogy)

Background:

• Accelerating beams, particularly light beams, are well-researched for their unique properties and applications.
• The generation of accelerating acoustic beams remains largely unexplored, presenting a gap in current acoustic research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate the generation of accelerating acoustic beams.
• To achieve control over the trajectory of these acoustic beams along arbitrary convex paths.
• To investigate the robustness of these beams against scattering from obstacles.

Main Methods:

• Projecting desired trajectories onto the spatial phase profile of a boundary.
• Discretizing and spatially sampling the phase profile.
• Formulating sound field distribution using Green's function and integral equation methods.
• Examining both paraxial and non-paraxial regimes.

Main Results:

• Successful experimental observation of accelerating acoustic beams along arbitrary convex trajectories.
• Demonstration of the approach's robustness against obstacle scattering in the sound field.
• Validation of theoretical formulations in both paraxial and non-paraxial scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The study presents the first experimental realization of accelerating acoustic beams along arbitrary convex trajectories.
• The developed method is robust to scattering, paving the way for practical applications.
• This advancement holds significant potential for applications requiring targeted delivery of acoustic energy and information.