Non-linear fate of internal wave attractors

We present a laboratory study on the instability of internal wave attractors in a trapezoidal fluid domain filled with uniformly stratified fluid. Energy is injected into the system via standing-wave-type motion of a vertical wall. Attractors are found to be destroyed by parametric subharmonic insta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2013-06, Vol.110 (23)
Main Authors: Scolan, Hélène, Ermanyuk, E. V., Dauxois, Thierry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Fluid Dynamics
Nonlinear Sciences
Pattern Formation and Solitons
Physics
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We present a laboratory study on the instability of internal wave attractors in a trapezoidal fluid domain filled with uniformly stratified fluid. Energy is injected into the system via standing-wave-type motion of a vertical wall. Attractors are found to be destroyed by parametric subharmonic instability (PSI) via a triadic resonance which is shown to provide a very efficient energy pathway from long to short length scales. This study provides an explanation why attractors may be difficult or impossible to observe in natural systems subject to large amplitude forcing.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114