A FUNDAMENTAL-STUDY OF THE EXCITATION OF A STONELEY WAVE AT A LIQUID-SOLID INTERFACE - RAYLEIGH ANGLE AND GAUSSIAN-BEAM INCIDENCE

Theoretical calculations show that near the Rayleigh angle the amplitu de of the Stoneley wave generated by a homogeneous plane wave incident at the intersection between two liquids overlying a single solid has a local maximum. This maximum is very small compared with the one obta ined for almost normal incidence at the mentioned intersection when th e most efficient excitation occurs. The paper also presents numerical results for the generation of a Stoneley wave by means of an incident Gaussian beam. Finally, a very simple to interpret expression for the amplitude of the excited Stoneley wave is given.