I’m not sure what principle they use. Is it explainable in lay terms?
It always seemed to me that the way to do this was to have a dual fuselage, which would create two adjacent sound cones that would intersect and interfere.
But of course that was just a guess based on wind tunnel images of low-speed slipstreams.
It does have to do with the design of the fuselage, but not in the way you’re suggesting. IIRC, they’re trying to shape the plane so that the shockwave collapses upon itself shortly after it is created. I believe that this means they’ll be going with a more needle like shape than has been used in the past.
It’s called a quiet spike. Basically it is a cone that extends well in front of the aircraft. The small cone creates a long shockwave that envelopes the aircraft. It doesn’t eliminate the sonic boom, it just creates a much smaller one.
And that’s all I’m at liberty to say 