Acoustic dipole Mach-number scaling 2026-10-14
For a small body of size in flow of speed , force of order varying on time produces an acoustic dipole density amplitude of the displayed order, where is the Mach number. Its sound power scales as . The corresponding compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling has density amplitude of order and power .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 50 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the conservative continuity equation and momentum balance, with the viscous stress:Differentiate the first equation in time and take the divergence of the second. Eliminating momentum givesSubtract , and define the Lighthill stress tensor byThe constant reference subtraction has no double divergence. The exact Lighthill acoustic analogy isThis is an exact rearrangement; linearization is not used to eliminate the nonlinear source tensor.
Convolving with the retarded acoustic Green function and transferring the source derivatives by integration by parts givesThe acoustic compact-source approximation requires source size to satisfy for its characteristic frequency ; the acoustic far field additionally requires and . Internal retardation is then negligible at leading order, and the radiating parts of the two observer derivatives act on the common retarded time. With and , the far-field acoustic force and stress moments giveThe two spatial derivatives supply two factors of , in addition to the in the Green function.
For a subsonic fluctuating source of velocity scale , size and turnover time , suppose its stress scale is . Then and . The compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling is thereforeThis fourth-power statement concerns the acoustic density amplitude under the specified eddy-time and stress scaling. With an independently imposed frequency, the general estimate instead retains .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 74 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Convolution with the retarded acoustic Green function, followed by two integrations by parts in the source coordinate, yieldsFor the acoustic compact-source approximation, replace the distance and the source retarded time by and in the leading moment. Thus the integral is , where . In the acoustic far field, each spatial derivative acts predominantly on retarded time: , where . Derivatives of and of give lower powers of . The two retarded derivatives therefore giveThis is the compact acoustic quadrupole field, retaining its angular stress projection.
For the compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling, let the source length be , typical fluctuation speed be , and typical time be . The low-Mach number stress is , so and . ConsequentlyWith the geometric ratio separated, this is the stated fourth-power dependence. It assumes an advective source time scale and compactness . An externally driven source with an independent frequency does not acquire the same Mach power automatically.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 82 1 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put , , and take a compactly supported Lighthill stress tensor. The isotropic term in that tensor is : the Kronecker delta is implicit in the printed shorthand. Convolving the Lighthill acoustic analogy with the retarded acoustic Green function and integrating twice by parts in the source coordinates givesThe boundary terms vanish because of compact support. For source size , the acoustic compact-source approximation requires . At , we may therefore replace the denominator by and the retarded argument by in the leading source integral. Define . In the radiation region , the leading two spatial derivatives act on the retarded time rather than on or :Thus the leading acoustic quadrupole density isFor the compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling, let be the source fluctuation speed, , and use the advective source time . With , one has and . ConsequentlyThe fourth power refers to the radiation coefficient with geometric spreading separated. It assumes that the source frequency scales as ; an independently imposed frequency or an independently strong thermal source would change that Mach number estimate.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 88 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let , and . Convolving the source terms in the Lighthill acoustic analogy with the retarded acoustic Green function, and moving their spatial derivatives outside the integral, givesThe integrals have compact spatial support. For an acoustically compact source, its size satisfies , so the source-dependent retardation is negligible at leading order. Also take . Define and . In the radiation terms the spatial derivatives act on , with . Derivatives of produce smaller near-field terms. Thus the far-field acoustic force and stress moments giveUsing gives the equivalent powers of requested. The force term is an acoustic dipole; the Lighthill stress tensor produces an acoustic quadrupole.
For a small body in low-speed flow, put . A typical unsteady force has size and time scale , whereas . ThereforeThese are the acoustic dipole Mach-number scaling and compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling. Since and outgoing acoustic intensity is of order , their sound powers scale asThus an unsteady force on the body can produce the dominant low-Mach number sound. If the integrated force or its time derivative vanishes, that dipole contribution is absent. Force on the body and force on the fluid have opposite signs.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 77 1 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let , , and let the source have size . The retarded acoustic Green function gives the outgoing solution of Lighthill acoustic analogy asThis follows by integrating the source derivatives by parts in the retarded convolution. Assume the source is localized and the boundary terms vanish. In the acoustic compact-source approximation, , the retardation across the source can be neglected, while permits replacement of the denominator by . The integral becomes .
In the radiation region , derivatives of the retarded argument dominate derivatives of the spreading factor. Since , the leading acoustic quadrupole field isThe two negative retardation derivatives give a positive sign. This is a far-field approximation, with smaller near-field terms omitted.
For low-Mach number aerodynamic fluctuations of speed and advective time , take , , and two time derivatives of order . ThereforeThe quoted fourth power is the compact acoustic quadrupole Mach-number scaling, with geometric spreading shown explicitly. It assumes the source strength and time scale just stated; the source must be acoustically compact, and the observation point must remain in the radiation region.