Application of the Gaussian beam method to elasticity theory

Summary. The Gaussian beam method is applied to different model problems of elastodynamic wave propagation. It is shown that the method is as effective for the computation of elastic wavefields as for scalar problems and may be used for the same frequencies and distances from a source as the ray method. It is found that about 30 Gaussian beams must be summed up to obtain satisfactory results for a wide range of frequencies and distances from a source and the number of beams does not depend on the geometric structure of a caustic.