Wave adjustment: general concept and examples

Abstract

We formulate a general theory of wave adjustment applicable to any physical system (not necessarily a hydrodynamic one), which, being linearized, possesses linear invariants and a complete system of waves harmonically depending on the time $t$. The invariants are determined by the initial conditions and are zero for the waves, which, therefore, do not transport and affect the invariants. The evolution of such a system can be represented naturally as the sum of a stationary component with non-zero invariants and a non-steady wave part with zero invariants. If the linear system is disturbed by a small perturbation (linear or nonlinear), then the state vector of the system is split into slow balanced and fast wave components. Various scenarios of the wave adjustment are demonstrated with fairly simple hydrodynamic models. The simplest scenario, called ‘fast radiation’, takes place when the waves rapidly (their group speed $c_{gr}$ greatly exceeds the slow flow velocity $U$) radiate away from the initial perturbation and do not interact effectively with the slow component. As a result, at large times, after the waves propagate away, the residual flow is slow and described by a balanced model. The scenario is exemplified by the three-dimensional non-rotating barotropic flow with a free surface. A more complicated scenario, called ‘nonlinear trapping’, occurs if oscillations with small group speed $c_{gr}\leqslant U$ are present in the wave spectrum. In this case, after nonlinear wave adjustment, the state vector is a superposition of the slow balanced component and oscillations with small $c_{gr}$ trapped by this component. An example of this situation is the geostrophic adjustment of a three-dimensional rotating barotropic layer with a free surface. In the third scenario, called ‘incomplete splitting’, the wave adjustment is accompanied by non-stationary boundary layers arising near rigid and internal boundaries at large times. The thickness of such a layer tends to zero and cross-gradients of physical parameters in the layer tend to infinity as $t\rightarrow \infty$. The layer is an infinite number of wave modes whose group speed tends to zero as the mode number tends to infinity. In such a system, complete splitting of motion into fast and slow components is impossible even in the linear approximation. The scenario is illustrated by an example of stratified non-rotating flow between two rigid lids. The above scenarios describe, at least, the majority of known cases of wave adjustment.