Convergence analysis with parameter estimates for a reduced basis acoustic scattering T-matrix method

The celebrated truncated T-matrix method for wave propagation models belongs to a class of the reduced basis methods (RBMs), with the parameters being incident waves and incident directions. The T-matrix characterizes the scattering properties of the obstacles independent of the incident and receiver directions. In the T-matrix method the reduced set of basis functions for representation of the scattered field is constructed analytically and hence, unlike other classes of the RBM, the T-matrix RBM avoids computationally intensive empirical construction of a reduced set of parameters and the associated basis set. However, establishing a convergence analysis and providing practical a priori estimates for reducing the number of basis functions in the T-matrix method has remained an open problem for several decades. In this work we solve this open problem for time-harmonic acoustic scattering in two and three dimensions. We numerically demonstrate the convergence analysis and the a priori parameter estimates for both point-source and plane-wave incident waves. Our approach can be used in conjunction with any numerical method for solving the forward wave propagation problem.