Paper 3, Section II, 39D
Part II, 2012
The function satisfies the equation
where is a constant. Find the dispersion relation for waves of frequency and wavenumber . Sketch a graph showing both the phase velocity and the group velocity , and state whether wave crests move faster or slower than a wave packet.
Suppose that is real and given by a Fourier transform as
Use the method of stationary phase to obtain an approximation for for fixed and large . If, in addition, , deduce an approximation for the sequence of times at which .
What can be said about if ? [Detailed calculation is not required in this case.]
[You may assume that for ]