Fourier expansion of disk automorphisms via scattering in layered media (Q1691993)

In this paper, the author uses recent results from scattering theory to derive the Fourier series expansion for an \(n\)-fold composition of disk automorphisms, and shows that the resulting identity connects diverse mathematical objects not previously known to be related. An exotic family of orthogonal polynomials on the disk which the author calls scattering polynomials, serves to formulate a remarkable Fourier expansion of the composition of a sequence of Poincaré disk automorphisms. In fact, scattering polynomials, a system of PDE with smooth coefficients, two different Riemannian structures on the disk and the scattering of acoustic waves in layered media are all shown to be connected through this identity. Scattering polynomials are tied to an exotic Riemannian structure on the disk that is hybrid between hyperbolic and Euclidean geometries, and the expansion therefore links this exotic structure to the usual hyperbolic one. The resulting identity is intimately connected with the scattering of plane waves in piecewise constant layered media. In fact, a recently established combinatorial analysis of scattering sequences provides a key ingredient of the proof. At the same time, the polynomial obtained by truncation of the Fourier expansion elegantly encodes the structure of the nonlinear measurement operator associated with the finite time duration scattering experiment. The article is organized as follows. The main result is stated in Subsection 1.1. In Subsection 1.2, the author briefly outlines scattering in layered media and describes needed ingredients such as the reflection experiment Green's function. He discusses related literature and prior art in Subsection 1.3. The main result is proved in Section 2, some longer technical arguments being relegated to the appendices. The author explains in Section 3 how the principal identity encodes the time limited scattering experiment and thereby provides fundamental insights into its geometric and computational aspects. The paper concludes with a brief discussion in Section 4 and some technical proofs (appendix) in Section 5.