Galerkin methods for the `parabolic equation' Dirichlet problem in a variable 2-D and 3-D topography (Q1946130)

The author is concerned with the parabolic approximation method in underwater acoustics. He uses far field and narrow angle paraxial approximations in order to transform the 2D and 3D Helmholtz equation in cilindrical coordinates into a parabolic equation. A Dirichlet initial-boundary value problem attached to this equation is solved by a Galerkin method coupled with a Crank-Nicolson time-stepping scheme. In a classical functional framework, the existence of a unique solution and the stability of the numerical solution are proved. Corresponding to the 2D case some numerical experiments are carried out.