The Gravity Anomaly of a 2D Polygonal Body Having Density Contrast Given by Polynomial Functions

Abstract

An analytical solution is presented for the gravity anomaly produced by a 2D body whose geometrical shape is arbitrary and where the density contrast is a polynomial function in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Approximating the real shape of the body by a polygon, the solution is expressed as sum of algebraic quantities that depend only upon the coordinates of the vertices of the polygon and upon the polynomial density function. The solution presented in the paper, which refers to a third-order polynomial function as a maximum, exhibits an intrinsic symmetry that naturally suggests its extension to the case of higher-order polynomials describing the density contrast. Furthermore, the gravity anomaly is evaluated at an arbitrary point that does not necessarily coincide with the origin of the reference frame in which the density function is assigned. Invoking recent results of potential theory, the solution derived in the paper is shown to be singularity-free and numerically robust. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach is witnessed by the numerical comparisons with examples derived from the existing literature.