Effects of parameters on the Green's function problem in the presence of an impulsive point source in highly heterogeneous viscoelastic media

Abstract The present study deals with the effects of various parameters on the propagation of SH‐wave under an impulsive point source in a heterogeneous viscoelastic media structure. The heterogeneity in the viscoelastic layer is assumed to be an exponential distribution function with depth. A complex frequency expression is obtained by applying appropriate boundary conditions and employing the Fourier transform and Green's function technique. In this expression, the real and imaginary parts represent the phase velocity and attenuation phenomenon of the SH‐wave. The validity of the model is shown by deriving special cases and comparing them with the classical case of the Love wave equation. The influence of various parameters, such as viscoelastic, and heterogeneous parameters associated with the layer and half‐space, has been analyzed numerically and graphically. This analysis aims to compare and observe the effects of these parameters on the phase velocity and attenuation coefficient of the SH‐wave.