Stable components of sound fields in the ocean

Area of Science:

• Ocean acoustics
• Wave propagation physics

Background:

• Ocean acoustic waveguides are complex environments where sound speed perturbations significantly affect wave propagation.
• Understanding stable wave field components is crucial for accurate acoustic modeling and signal processing in the ocean.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a method for identifying wave field components weakly sensitive to sound speed perturbations in ocean acoustic waveguides.
• To demonstrate the practical application and existence of these stable components through numerical simulations.

Main Methods:

• Identifying narrow beams of rays with limited vertical spread.
• Utilizing field expansions in coherent states and normal modes for component selection.
• Numerical simulation of sound fields in a deep-water waveguide.

Main Results:

• Stable wave field components exhibit minimal phase and amplitude changes despite waveguide perturbations.
• Perturbations introduce only a constant phase factor or a time delay to stable components.
• Numerical simulations confirm the existence and proximity of stable components in perturbed and unperturbed waveguides.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method effectively identifies stable wave field components in ocean acoustics.
• These stable components offer a robust way to analyze acoustic fields in dynamic underwater environments.
• The findings have implications for underwater acoustic communication and remote sensing.