Rayleigh wave propagation in a viscoelastic half-space

Summary Rayleigh waves excited by an impulsive force imbedded in a linear viscoelastic half-space are synthesized by applying an approximate inversion of the Fourier transform which yields reliable results. The method is general enough and can be applied to general models of viscoelasticity described by the Boltzmann superposition principle, with a relaxation or creep function given analytically or numerically in the time or frequency domain. Illustrations are given in cases of simple and complicated models of viscoelasticity.