On orthogonal transformations of Christoffel equations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to prove the equivalence$-$under rotations of distinct terms$-$of different forms of a determinantal equation that appears in the studies of wave propagation in Hookean solids, in the context of the Christoffel equations. To do so, we prove a general proposition that is not limited to ${\mathbb R}^3$, nor is it limited to the elasticity tensor with its index symmetries. Furthermore, the proposition is valid for orthogonal transformations, not only for rotations. The sought equivalence is a corollary of that proposition.