Part II: Tracing and interpolation

The numerical tracing of short ray segments and interpolation of new rays between these ray segments are central constituents of the wavefront construction method. In this paper the details of the ray tracing and ray-interpolation procedures are described. The ray-tracing procedure is based on classical ray theory (high-frequency approximation) and it is both accurate and efficient. It is able to compute both kinematic and dynamic parameters at the endpoint of the ray segments, given the same set of parameters at the starting point of the ray. Taylor series are used to approximate the raypath so that the kinematic parameters (new position and new ray tangent) may be found, while a staggered finite-difference approximation gives the dynamic parameters (geometrical spreading). When divergence occurs in some parts of the wavefront, new rays are interpolated. The interpolation procedure uses the kinematic and dynamic parameters of two parent rays to estimate the initial parameters of a new ray on the wavefront between the two rays. Third-order (cubic) interpolation is used for interpolation of position, ray tangent and take-off vector from the source) while linear interpolation is used for the geometrical spreading parameters.