The decomposition of the wave field into optimized Gaussian packets represents a crucial step of the Gaussian packet prestack depth migration algorithm. The shape of optimized Gaussian packets, in the plane perpendicular to the central ray of the packet, depends not only on the frequency, but also on the coordinate of the intersection of the central ray of a Gaussian packet with the profile, on its arrival time, and on the component of the slowness vector along the profile. We express the amplitude of a Gaussian packet in the form of an integral transform similar to the forward coherent-state transform. Our method is suitable for a smooth distribution of the parameter determining the shape of a packet in the plane perpendicular to its central ray.
The image of the paper in GIF 150dpi (1715 kB !) is designed for an instant screen preview.
The reprint is available in PostScript (1997 kB !), GZIPped PostScript (710 kB), and PDF (614 kB).