Creeping-Wave Pulses on Circular Cylinders

Abstract

Many recent studies of the transient behavior of diffracted waves have been concerned only with the field in the small neighborhood behind the pulse front. Some authors have given the forms of the field of plane pulses far behind the pulse front. The present work was initiated in order to bridge the gap and find the total pulse shape on the cylinder surface. These waves on the cylinder surface are the creeping waves of W. Franz. It is found that, near the front of the pulse, the field builds up slowly and also near the end of the pulse the field falls off slowly; what happens in between, of course, depends upon the type of incident pulse. [Work supported by the David Taylor Model Basin and the U. S. Office of Naval Research.]