Tutorial III. On the Gaussian Beam Approximation, Part II: Gaussian Beams Approximations for Resonances
James Ralston
UCLA
Mathematics
Unlike conventional geometrical optics, the Gaussian beam Ansatz gives approximate solutions to PDE which are concentrated on a single ray path. They do not develop singularities in finite time. However, using superposition over families of rays, they provide an accurate approximation to solutions with caustics and more general singularities.