 Acoustic far field

The acoustic far field is the radiation region where the observer is many reduced wavelengths from the source and far compared with its geometric extent. Three-dimensional outgoing acoustic density perturbations spread as $R^{-1}$; two-dimensional harmonic fields spread as $R^{-1/2}$. The condition is independent of the acoustic compact-source approximation $k_0\ell \ll 1$. Differentiating a retarded phase produces the radiating part of a Green function integral; derivatives of the spreading factor produce near-field terms.