Spatial Divergence of Multimode Acoustic Beams Formed by a Vertical Array in a Refracting Oceanic Waveguide

Abstract

We consider the patterns manifested during the formation of the spatial intensity distribution of an acoustic field excited by a vertical array in a deep-water oceanic waveguide with an underwater sound channel open to the surface and an acoustically transparent bottom. The study focuses on the dependence of the spatial divergence of multimode beams on the angle of compensation of an array emitting a tone signal. It is established that if the size of the array aperture significantly exceeds the optimal size, then at a certain angle of compensation appreciably differing from zero, a multimode beam forms with minimal diffraction divergence even in the absence of bending points and smooth extrema of the dependence of the length of the ray cycle on the ray parameter.