About the method of integral field representation as the double weighted Fourier transform in the problems of wave propagation in inhomogeneous media

UDC 537.87 The limits of applicability of the method of integral field representation as the double weighted Fourier transform (DWFT) are determined on the basis of an exact path representation for the Green function of the parabolic equation. The estimates we have obtained imply that the DWFT method takes into account the effects of diffraction by inhomogeneities with scales equal to or less than the radius of the first Fresnel zone of a plane wave and can be exploited to solve the inverse problems of retrieval of the inhomogeneous-medium parameters from the data measured in the source and receiver planes.