An analogy between dispersive wave propagation and special relativity

DOI10.1007/BF00945004MaRDI QIDQ1122382zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Robert Vichnevetsky

Publication date 1989

Published in ZAMP. Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Physik (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00945004

zbMATH Keywords

``relativistic massdynamics of wave packetskinetic energylinear momentumnonuniform dispersive mediaposition of a wave packetpotential energytaut string

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Wave equation (35L05) Wave scattering in solid mechanics (74J20)

Review text

By defining essentially the ``relativistic mass and the position of a wave packet in terms of the \(L_ 2\)-norm of the amplitude and introducing appropriate definitions for the corresponding linear momentum, kinetic energy and potential energy, the author shows that the dynamics of wave packets in nonuniform dispersive media satisfies relations which are analogous in form to those describing the relativistic dynamics of mass particles. This standpoint is illustrated by the example of a taut string on which discrete masses are attached at irregular intervals. A numerical experiment exhibits the motion and the reflection of a wave packet by a gradient in the analog of a relativistic potential. There must be something deeper rooted in this analogy (ray approximation for waves of which the phase is a Lorentz invariant?), but the analogy is not pursued further.

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Cites work

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3780501 (Why is no real title available?)
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Cited in

(4)

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 6538446 (Why is no real title available?)
• Relativistic invariance of dispersion-relations and their associated wave-operators and Green-functions
• On quantization of nondispersive wave packets
• A quantum-like theory of wave propagation in periodic structures

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