Travel time computations using a compact eikonal equation for vertical transverse isotropic media

Eikonal solvers often have stability problems if the velocity model is mildly heterogeneous. We derive a stable and compact form of the eikonal equation for P‐wave propagation in vertical transverse isotropic media. The obtained formulation is more compact than other formulations and therefore computationally attractive. We implemented ray shooting for this new equation through a Hamiltonian formalism. Ray tracing based on this new equation is tested on both simple as well as more realistic mildly heterogeneous velocity models. We show through examples that the new equation gives travel times that coincide with the travel time picks from wave equation modelling for anisotropic wave propagation.