Energy radiated by a point acoustic dipole that reverses its uniform velocity along its rectilinear path.

Abstract

This work extends a mathematical approach developed recently for monopoles to describe the sound energy radiated by a rectilinearly moving dipole that changes direction along its trajectory. Although the dipole travels with constant speed, it undergoes acceleration by reversing its direction during a finite time interval along its path. This work determines the joint angular and frequency distribution of the radiated energy, its angular distribution, and the total radiated energy output. Results for the radiated energy are systematized by expressing the radiation integrals in terms of hypergeometric functions. This procedure simplifies the evaluations, particularly at low Mach numbers, and permits the comparison of results to the earlier monopole case.