A consistent implementation of point sources on finite-difference grids

SUMMARY We present a method to position point sources at arbitrary locations on finite-difference (FD) grids. We show that implementing point sources on single nodes can cause considerable errors when modelling with the FD method. In contrast, we propose to create a spatially distributed source (over multiple nodes) that nonetheless creates the desired point-source response. The spatial point source is formulated in the wavenumber domain and is based on the FD coefficients used for the wave propagation. Using this ‘FD-consistent source’ on 1-D and 2-D examples, we show that we can obtain superior fits to analytical solutions compared to single-node or sinc-function source implementations, and we show that sources can be offset to arbitrary locations from ‘on’ the grid to ‘off’ the grid, while resulting in solutions that are identical to within machine precision