Non-piezoactivity in piezoacoustics: basic properties and topological features

The existence conditions of zero electric fields E and zero electric displacements D are studied for bulk acoustic waves in piezoelectric crystals. General equations are derived for lines of zero electric fields, E(m)=0, and for specific points m ₀ of vanishing electric displacements, D(m ₀)=0, on the unit sphere of propagation directions m ²=1. The obtained equations are solved for a series of examples of particular crystal symmetry. It is shown that the vectors D _α (m) being generally orthogonal to the wave normal m are characterized by definite orientational singularities in the vicinity of m ₀ and can be described by the Poincaré indices n=0, ±1 or ±2. The algebraic expressions for the indices n are found both for unrestricted anisotropy and for a series of particular cases.