Periodic orbit theory in acoustics: spectral fluctuations in circular and annular waveguides

Formulas based on the theory of Weyl are widely used to obtain the average number of modes at or below a given frequency in acoustic and vibrational waveguides. These formulas are valid at asymptotically high frequencies; at finite frequencies they are subject to some error, due to fluctuations in the mode count, which depend on the shape of the waveguide. The periodic orbit theory of semiclassical physics is used to give estimates of the variance of these fluctuations and these results are compared with numerical estimates based on eigenvalues obtained by root-finding. The comparison is good but shows errors that can be related to the nature of the periodic orbit theory. Engineering formulas are provided that give an accurate approximation without significant computational cost. The results are valid for membranes, ducts, and thin plates with clamped and/or simply supported boundary conditions.