Convectons in a rotating fluid layer

Abstract

AbstractTwo-dimensional convection in a plane layer bounded by stress-free perfectly conducting horizontal boundaries and rotating uniformly about the vertical is considered. Time-independent spatially localized structures, called convectons, of even and odd parity are computed. The convectons are embedded within a self-generated shear layer with a compensating shear flow outside the structure. These states are organized within a bifurcation structure called slanted snaking and may be present even when periodic convection sets in supercritically. These interesting properties are traced to the presence of a conserved quantity and hence to the use of stress-free boundary conditions.