Module 3 : Wave Model
Lecture   : Wave Model
a)
Since the energy has to propagate along the axis of the fiber, the solution should be a traveling wave type solution

along the axis, that is, the direction. If a wave travels in direction then its z-variation should be . That is to say that

b)
Now to fix the variation we can use the following argument . From Figure1 we can note that, if we move only in the
 

direction i.e., in the azimuthal direction in a cross sectional plane, after one complete rotation we reach to the same location. In other words, the function is periodic in over . In direction, the function is a harmonic function that is,

where is an integer. This functional form represents a field which will repeat itself after one rotation or when changes by multiples of .

Substituting for the in the wave equation the only unknown function remains to be evaluated is .

The wave equation therefore becomes

  (9)