A new approach to Cagniardʹs problem Original Research Article

Cagniard problem refers to the class of linear reflection and transmission problem for pulsed line and point sources, which have solution methods leading to exact algebraic representations of the wave fields. All previous methods have relied heavily on integral or differential transforms. We present in this paper a new and direct approach to the problem which involves only the wave equation and its associated characteristic equation. We illustrate the new method by applying it to the problem of the reflection and transmission of acoustic waves radiating from a line source in the vicinity of a plane boundary separating two uniform acoustic media.