Radial acoustic spectrum between rigid concentric spheres

ID: radial-acoustic-spectrum-between-rigid-concentric-spheres

A velocity potential obeying the wave equation with constant speed of sound has spherical normal modes , . Zero radial velocity at radii gives Neumann conditions on the potential, not on its numerator. The inner condition is built into . The outer condition gives , equivalent to the displayed equation for nonzero oscillatory modes. The formal zero root is a constant potential gauge, rather than a nonzero-frequency acoustic wave. Applying a one-dimensional sine condition to the numerator would miss the spherical geometric factors.

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