Past exam of the elasticity and plasticity course of the University of Oxford / 2011 / 2 / a / Solution

Substituting the sinusoidal plane wave into the Navier-Cauchy equation gives $\Delta u=-u$, $u_{tt}=-c^{2}u$, and $\nabla \mathrm{div}u=-k(k\cdot a)\sin (k\cdot X-ct)$ because $|k|=1$. Equality of the amplitudes is thereforeThis is an eigenvalue problem for the acoustic tensor $\mu I+(\lambda +\mu )k\otimes k$. Choosing a nonzero amplitude parallel to $k$ gives $\rho c^2=\lambda +2\mu$; choosing any nonzero amplitude perpendicular to $k$ gives $\rho c^2=\mu$. For positive mass density and stable Lamé parameters, both squared speeds are positive. These choices construct nonzero solutions explicitly, proving existence.