Hidden Symmetries in Acoustic Wave Systems

Area of Science:

• Acoustic metamaterials
• Wave physics
• Symmetry in physics

Background:

• Latent symmetries are properties of discrete systems that emerge during dimensional reduction.
• Understanding and applying these symmetries in continuous systems like acoustic networks is an open challenge.
• Acoustic networks offer a platform to explore wave phenomena and control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the application of latent symmetries in continuous wave setups, specifically acoustic networks.
• To design acoustic networks with latent-symmetry induced amplitude parity between waveguide junctions.
• To develop a modular approach for creating complex latently symmetric acoustic systems.

Main Methods:

• Systematic design of acoustic networks leveraging latent symmetries.
• Development of a modular principle for interconnecting latently symmetric networks.
• Integration of mirror symmetric subsystems to create asymmetric wave setups.

Main Results:

• Acoustic networks were designed to exhibit latent-symmetry induced pointwise amplitude parity for low-frequency eigenmodes.
• A modular principle allowed for the interconnection of multiple latently symmetric junction pairs.
• Asymmetric setups with domain-wise parity in eigenmodes were achieved by combining networks with mirror symmetric subsystems.

Conclusions:

• Latent symmetries can be effectively utilized in continuous wave systems like acoustic networks.
• The developed modular approach enables the construction of complex, controllable wave phenomena.
• This work bridges discrete and continuous models, paving the way for exploiting hidden geometrical symmetries in practical wave applications.