Statistical foundations of revised reverberation theory for a diffuse sound field in a room

Abstract: Revised reverberation theory is reformulated statistically for a diffuse sound field to clarify how the mean residual free path connects direct sound, reflected sound, and room energy decay. Under total absorption, direct sound persists until reaching a boundary, producing decay after source cessation even without reflections. An integral-geometric relation connects the mean residual free path to the second moment of the wall-to-wall free path, thereby linking the mean propagation distance of direct sound to the temporal variance of reflected sound under an independent-renewal approximation. Using this relationship, the macroscopic decay rate and the microscopic long-time asymptotic decay rate agree exactly through second order in the absorption coefficient under an independent-renewal approximation. A gamma model with a consistent residual free-path distribution eliminates probability at negative arrival times. Ray-tracing simulations in three rectangular rooms support the predicted initial decay slopes under total absorption and reverberation predictions for absorption coefficients up to 0.5. Engineering approximations yield macroscopic formulas requiring only room volume, surface area, and absorption coefficient while reducing prediction errors relative to the Sabine and Eyring formulas. These results establish a common statistical basis for direct and reflected sound and connect the physical interpretation of reverberation to practical prediction.