Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-88/5/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 88 5 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write for the background wavenumber and . The Helmholtz equation givesThe Born approximation for scalar wave scattering replaces in this source term by . For the question's contrast , also linearize . Since , the outgoing scattered field isWithout the small-contrast linearization, replace by in this formula.
Apply the Weyl plane-wave representation. For an observation plane wholly above or below , put or , respectively, and choose with nonnegative imaginary part. Define . Substitution givesFor the lower observation plane the vertical phase has the opposite sign. This follows from the absolute separation in the Weyl identity; its version with alone applies only above the sources.
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