 Solution

The linearized equations are homogeneous and have constant coefficients in $x$ and $t$. Consequently, spatial Fourier modes evolve independently, and the superposition principle reconstructs arbitrary sufficiently regular initial disturbances from them. It is therefore enough to seek the normal modesHere the real $k$ is the wavenumber, $\sigma$ is the possibly complex temporal exponent, and taking the real part produces a physical displacement.