Horizon effects with surface waves on moving water
Abstract
Surface waves on a stationary flow of water are considered in a linear model that includes the surface tension of the fluid. The resulting gravity-capillary waves experience a rich array of horizon effects when propagating against the flow. In some cases, three horizons (points where the group velocity of the wave reverses) exist for waves with a single laboratory frequency. Some of these effects are familiar in fluid mechanics under the name of wave blocking, but other aspects, in particular waves with negative co-moving frequency and the Hawking effect, were overlooked until surface waves were investigated as examples of analogue gravity (Schützhold R and Unruh W G 2002 Phys. Rev. D 66 044019). A comprehensive presentation of the various horizon effects for gravity-capillary waves is given, with emphasis on the deep water/ short wavelength case kh>>1, where many analytical results can be derived. A similarity of the state space of the waves to that of a thermodynamic system is pointed out.
Citation
Rousseau , G , Maissa , P , Coullet , P , Philbin , T G & Leonhardt , U 2010 , ' Horizon effects with surface waves on moving water ' , New Journal of Physics , vol. 12 , 095018 . https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/12/9/095018
Publication
New Journal of Physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1367-2630Type
Journal article
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