Loss-induced modal selection by a resistive wiremesh.

This work examines the impact of local losses produced by a resistive wiremesh on the modes of an acoustic cavity. In the one-dimensional case, we demonstrate the ability to selectively affect the modes, ranging from being completely unaffected by the wiremesh to being fully absorbed by it. This effect can be used to filter the cavity modes. In the two-dimensional case, higher order modes are considered and we discuss the effect of wiremesh tilt on the cavity modes. A new type of mode that is localized on the wiremesh with a purely imaginary eigenfrequency has been identified. These findings show that wiremeshes are ultrabroadband lossy metasurfaces offering a straightforward way to explore passive non-Hermitian systems.

Higher-order mode filtering by a resistive layer.

A method for filtering higher-order acoustic modes using a resistive layer is proposed and applied to a two-dimensional rectangular waveguide with a quiescent fluid. An analogue of Cremer's criterion is discussed and used to obtain the optimal modal attenuation of the non-planar waves while the plane wave is preserved. Numerical validation of the concept is performed for a straight waveguide and an abrupt expansion in a waveguide.

Frozen sound: An ultra-low frequency and ultra-broadband non-reciprocal acoustic absorber.

The absorption of airborne sound is still a subject of active research, and even more since the emergence of acoustic metamaterials. Although being subwavelength, the screen barriers developed so far cannot absorb more than 50% of an incident wave at very low frequencies (<100 Hz). Here, we explore the design of a subwavelength and broadband absorbing screen based on thermoacoustic energy conversion. The system consists of a porous layer kept at room temperature on one side while the other side is cooled down to a very low temperature using liquid nitrogen. At the absorbing screen, the sound wave experiences both a pressure jump caused by viscous drag, and a velocity jump caused by thermoacoustic energy conversion breaking reciprocity and allowing a one-sided absorption up to 95 % even in the infrasound regime. By overcoming the ordinary low frequency absorption limit, thermoacoustic effects open the door to the design of innovative devices.

Subwavelength Su-Schrieffer-Heeger topological modes in acoustic waveguides.

Topological systems furnish a powerful way of localizing wave energy at edges of a structured material. Usually, this relies on Bragg scattering to obtain bandgaps with nontrivial topological structures. However, this limits their applicability to low frequencies because that would require very large structures. A standard approach to address the problem is to add resonating elements inside the material to open gaps in the subwavelength regime. Unfortunately, generally, one has no precise control on the properties of the obtained topological modes, such as their frequency or localization length. In this work, a unique construction is proposed to couple acoustic resonators such that acoustic modes are mapped exactly to the eigenmodes of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model. The relation between energy in the lattice model and the acoustic frequency is controlled by the characteristics of the resonators. In this way, SSH topological modes are obtained at any given frequency, for instance, in the subwavelength regime. The construction is also generalized to obtain well-controlled topological edge modes in alternative tunable configurations.

Exceptional Points of PT-Symmetric Reflectionless States in Complex Scattering Systems.

We investigate experimentally and analytically the coalescence of reflectionless (RL) states in symmetric complex wave-scattering systems. We observe RL exceptional points (EPs), first with a conventional Fabry-Perot system for which the scattering strength within the system is tuned symmetrically and then with single- and multichannel symmetric disordered systems. We confirm that an EP of the parity-time (PT)-symmetric RL operator is obtained for two isolated quasinormal modes when the spacing between central frequencies is equal to the decay rate into incoming and outgoing channels. Finally, we leverage the transfer functions associated with RL and RL-EP states to implement first- and second-order analog differentiation.

Sensitivity to losses and defects of the symmetry-induced transmission enhancement through diffusive slabs.

We inspect the robustness to absorption and to symmetry defects of the symmetry-induced broadband enhancement through opaque barriers in disordered slabs. The sensitivity of this phenomenon to symmetry defects is found to be strongly related to the distance from to barrier to the nearest defect, and, following, we propose a probabilistic model to estimate the conductance of a medium with an arbitrary number of randomly distributed defects. Also, the conductance enhancement is shown to be robust to absorption in the disordered medium, though being of course weakened. For sufficiently opaque barriers, the conditions of an optimal enhancement are mainly driven by the absorption length of the medium.

Anomalous transmission through periodic resistive sheets.

This work investigates anomalous transmission effects in periodic dissipative media, which is identified as an acoustic analogue of the Borrmann effect. For this, the scattering of acoustic waves on a set of equidistant resistive sheets is considered. It is shown both theoretically and experimentally that at the Bragg frequency of the system, the transmission coefficient is significantly higher than at other frequencies. The optimal conditions are identified: one needs a large number of sheets, which induce a very narrow peak, and the resistive sheets must be very thin compared to the wavelength, which gives the highest maximal transmission. Using the transfer matrix formalism, it is shown that this effect occurs when the two eigenvalues of the transfer matrix coalesce (i.e., at an exceptional point). Exploiting this algebraic condition, it is possible to obtain similar anomalous transmission peaks in more general periodic media. In particular, the system can be tuned to show a peak at an arbitrary long wavelength.

Slow sound laser in lined flow ducts.

This work considers the propagation of sound in a waveguide with an impedance wall. In the low frequency regime, the first effect of the impedance is to decrease the propagation speed of acoustic waves. Therefore, a flow in the duct can exceed the wave propagation speed at low Mach numbers, making it effectively supersonic. This work analyzes a setup where the impedance along the wall varies such that the duct is supersonic then subsonic in a finite region and supersonic again. In this specific configuration, the subsonic region acts as a resonant cavity, and triggers a laser-like instability. This work shows that the instability is highly subwavelength. Besides, if the subsonic region is small enough, the instability is static. This work also analyzes the effect of a shear flow layer near the impedance wall. Although its presence significantly alters the instability, its main properties are maintained. This work points out the analogy between the present instability and a similar one in fluid analogues of black holes known as the black hole laser.

Non-reciprocal scattering in shear flow.

This work presents a study of scattering phenomena in shear flows and its application to impedance walls. These flows are described by a dimensionless shear layer thickness and a mean Mach number. Both transmission through a given shear layer and reflection on an acoustic treatment are studied. This paper shows that the dimensionless thickness of the shear layer may be an interesting tool to reach perfect absorption or large lateral displacement of a Gaussian beam.

Acoustic radiation pressure for nonreciprocal transmission and switch effects.

Systems capable of breaking wave transmission reciprocity have recently led to tremendous developments in wave physics. We report herein on a concept that enables one-way transmission of ultrasounds, an acoustic diode, by relying on the radiation pressure effect. This effect makes it possible to reconfigure a multilayer system by significantly deforming a water-air interface. Such a reconfiguration is then used to achieve an efficient acoustic transmission in a specified direction of propagation but not in the opposite, hence resulting in a highly nonreciprocal transmission. The corresponding concept is experimentally demonstrated using an aluminum-water-air-aluminum multilayer system, providing the means to overcome key limitations of current nonreciprocal acoustic devices. We also demonstrate that this diode functionality can even be extended to the design and operations of an acoustic switch, thus paving the way for new wave control possibilities, such as those based on acoustic transistors, phonon computing and amplitude-dependent filters.

Using liner surface modes in acoustic ducts to make obstacles reflectionless.

Acoustic cloaking for the suppression of backscattering inside ducts is proposed in the audible range where plane waves are curved around the object using the surface modes of the liner. It is numerically shown that a slowly varying resonant liner (e.g. based on an array of tubes) creates a zone of silence in which an object of arbitrary shape can be acoustically hidden for a wide range of frequencies. And then, a resonant liner has deflecting properties without reflection of the wavefront, which are close to an ideal invisibility cloak. This kind of cloaking is effective in a wide frequency band and the cloaking band is a function of the impedance and height of the obstacle relative to the conduit. For smooth shaped obstacles, there is an ability of the object to help hide itself, which increases the cloaking frequency band (self-cloaking). Dispersion effects lead to slow sounds and distortion of the wave phase.

Broadband-Enhanced Transmission through Symmetric Diffusive Slabs.

We report on a significant and broadband enhancement of the transmission through an opaque barrier, when placed between symmetric diffusive disordered slabs. The transmission enhancement is accompanied by a bimodal distribution of the transmission eigenvalues, and, for a given transmittance of the barrier, it finds an optimal value for a particular length of the disordered slabs. A simple model allows us to quantify the scalings between the parameters that show that the stronger the barrier, the stronger the maximum possible enhancement. The sensitivity to symmetry defects is also explored, displaying potential interest for wave based sensing.

Explicit approximation of the wavenumber for lined ducts.

For acoustic waves in lined ducts, at given frequencies, the dispersion relation leads to a transcendental equation for the wavenumber that has to be solved by numerical methods. Based on an Eckart explicit expression initially derived for water waves, accurate explicit approximations are proposed for the wavenumber of the fundamental mode in lined ducts. While the Eckart expression is 5% accurate, some improved approximations can reach maximum relative errors of less than 10-8. The cases with small dissipation parts in the admittance of the liner and/or axisymmetric ducts are also considered.

Rainbow-trapping absorbers: Broadband, perfect and asymmetric sound absorption by subwavelength panels for transmission problems.

Perfect, broadband and asymmetric sound absorption is theoretically, numerically and experimentally reported by using subwavelength thickness panels in a transmission problem. The panels are composed of a periodic array of varying crosssection waveguides, each of them being loaded by Helmholtz resonators (HRs) with graded dimensions. The low cut-off frequency of the absorption band is fixed by the resonance frequency of the deepest HR, that reduces drastically the transmission. The preceding HR is designed with a slightly higher resonance frequency with a geometry that allows the impedance matching to the surrounding medium. Therefore, reflection vanishes and the structure is critically coupled. This results in perfect sound absorption at a single frequency. We report perfect absorption at 300 Hz for a structure whose thickness is 40 times smaller than the wavelength. Moreover, this process is repeated by adding HRs to the waveguide, each of them with a higher resonance frequency than the preceding one. Using this frequency cascade effect, we report quasi-perfect sound absorption over almost two frequency octaves ranging from 300 to 1000 Hz for a panel composed of 9 resonators with a total thickness of 11 cm, i.e., 10 times smaller than the wavelength at 300 Hz.

PT-Symmetric Scattering in Flow Duct Acoustics.

We show theoretically and experimentally that the propagation of an acoustic wave in an airflow duct going through a pair of diaphragms, with equivalent amounts of mean-flow-induced effective gain and loss, displays all the features of a parity-time (PT) symmetric system. Using a scattering matrix formalism, we observe, experimentally, the properties which reflect the PT symmetry of the scattering acoustical system: the existence of spontaneous symmetry breaking with symmetry-broken pairs of scattering eigenstates showing amplification and reduction, and the existence of points with unidirectional invisibility.

Asymmetric Acoustic Propagation of Wave Packets Via the Self-Demodulation Effect.

This Letter presents the experimental characterization of nonreciprocal elastic wave transmission in a single-mode elastic waveguide. This asymmetric system is obtained by coupling a selection layer with a conversion layer: the selection component is provided by a phononic crystal, while the conversion is achieved by a nonlinear self-demodulation effect in a 3D unconsolidated granular medium. A quantitative experimental study of this acoustic rectifier indicates a high rectifying ratio, up to 10^{6}, with wide band (10 kHz) and an audible effect. Moreover, this system allows for wave-packet rectification and extends the future applications of asymmetric systems.

Empirical mode decomposition profilometry: small-scale capabilities and comparison to Fourier transform profilometry.

We present the empirical mode decomposition profilometry (EMDP) for the analysis of fringe projection profilometry (FPP) images. It is based on an iterative filter, using empirical mode decomposition, which is free of spatial filtering and adapted for surfaces characterized by a broadband spectrum of deformation. Its performances are compared to Fourier transform profilometry, the benchmark of FPP. We show both numerically and experimentally that using EMDP improves strongly the profilometry small-scale capabilities. Moreover, the height reconstruction distortion is much lower: the reconstructed height field is now both spectrally and statistically accurate. EMDP is thus particularly suited to quantitative experiments.

Slow sound in lined flow ducts.

The acoustic propagation in lined flow duct with purely reactive impedance at the wall is considered. This reacting liner has the capability to reduce the speed of sound, and thus to enhance the interaction between the acoustic propagation and the low Mach number flow ( M≃0.3). At the lower frequencies, there are typically four acoustic or hydrodynamic propagating modes, with three of them propagating in the direction of the flow. Above a critical frequency, there are only two propagating modes that all propagate in the direction of the flow. From the exact two-dimensional formulation an approximate one-dimensional model is developed to study the scattering of acoustic waves in a straight duct with varying wall impedance. This simple system, with a uniform flow and with non-uniform liner impedance at the wall, permits to study the scattering between regions with different wave characteristics. Several situations are characterized to show the importance of negative energy waves, strong interactions between acoustic and hydrodynamic modes, or asymmetric scattering.

Improved multimodal admittance method in varying cross section waveguides.

An improved version of the multimodal admittance method in acoustic waveguides with varying cross sections is presented. This method aims at a better convergence with respect to the number of transverse modes that are taken into account. It is based on an enriched modal expansion of the pressure: the N first modes are the local transverse modes and a supplementary (N+1)th mode, called boundary mode, is a well-chosen transverse function orthogonal to the N first modes. This expansion leads to the classical form of the coupled mode equations where the component of the boundary mode is of evanescent character. Under this form, the multimodal admittance method based on the Riccati equation on the admittance matrix (the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator) is straightforwardly implemented. With this supplementary mode, in addition to the improvement of the convergence of the pressure field, results show a superconvergence of the scattered field outside of the varying cross sections region.

Superadiabatic evolution of acoustic and vorticity perturbations in Couette flow.

Nonadiabatic transitions between the acoustic and the vorticity modes perturbing a plane Couette flow are examined in the context of higher-order WKB asymptotics. In the case of the Schrödinger equation, it is known that looking at the solution expressed in the superadiabatic base, composed of higher-order asymptotic solutions, smoothes quantum state transitions. Then, increasing the order of the superadiabatic base causes these transitions to tend to the Gauss error function, and, once an optimal order is reached, the asymptotic process starts to diverge. We show that for perturbations in Couette flow, similar results can be applied on the amplitudes of the vorticity and acoustic modes. This allows us to more closely track the emergence of the acoustic modes in the presence of the vorticity mode.