3D finite-difference modeling of elastic wave propagation in the Laplace-Fourier domain

With the recent interest in the Laplace-Fourier domain full waveform inversion, we have developed new heterogeneous 3D fourth- and second-order staggered-grid finite-difference schemes for modeling seismic wave propagation in the Laplace-Fourier domain. Our approach is based on the integro-interpolation technique for the velocity-stress formulation in the Cartesian coordinate system. Five averaging elastic coefficients and three averaging densities are necessary to describe the heterogeneous medium, with harmonic averaging of the bulk and shear moduli, and arithmetic averaging of density. In the fourth-order approximation, we improved the accuracy of the scheme using a combination of integral identities for two elementary volumes - small and large around spatial grid-points where the wave variables are defined. Two solution approaches are provided, both of which are solved with iterative Krylov methods. In the first approach, the stress variables are eliminated and a linear system for the velocity components is solved. In the second approach, we worked directly with the first-order system of velocity and stress variables. This reduced the computer memory required to store the complex matrix, along with reducing (by 30%) the number of arithmetic operations needed for the solution compared to the fourth-order scheme for velocity only. Numerical examples show that our finite-difference formulations for elastic wavefield simulations can achieve more accurate solutions with fewer grid points than those from previously published second and fourth-order frequency-domain schemes. We applied our simulator to the investigation of wavefields from the SEG/EAGE model in the Laplace-Fourier domain. The calculation is sensitive to the heterogeneity of the medium and capable of describing the structures of complex objects. Our technique can also be extended to 3D elastic modeling within the time domain.