In an incompressible shearing sheet, a single real-wavevector velocity and magnetic Fourier mode transverse to that wavevector has identically zero quadratic self-advection and cross-advection. Advecting its phase by background shear and stretching its spatially uniform field give the displayed evolution laws. Their opposite contributions keep the Alfvén frequency constant. The resulting viscous and resistive wave-amplitude equations are exact finite-amplitude solutions; physical pressure adjusts to the quadratic magnetic-pressure terms.
In an incompressible shearing sheet with background velocity , take both the perturbation velocity and the entire magnetic field to be real single Fourier modes with a common real wavevector and transverse amplitudes. Then every quadratic directional derivative vanishes, including terms involving complex conjugates. There is no uniform background magnetic field and consequently no linear magnetic-tension coupling between the amplitudes. Advecting the phase requires , . The velocity amplitude obeys ; the magnetic amplitude obeys the displayed equation. The modified pressure includes magnetic pressure; the physical pressure can contain a mean and second harmonic even when the modified pressure is a single mode.
For a zero-mean magnetic shearing wave, the real wavevector satisfies , with constant. Dotting the velocity-amplitude equation with its complex conjugate eliminates Coriolis force and pressure work, giving . The inequality proves the displayed bound; the magnetic bound has the same form with replacing . Now
For and positive kinematic viscosity and magnetic diffusivity, the negative cubic exponent dominates the linear shear-work bound, so both amplitudes tend to zero. Transient growth is allowed. Positivity matters: an inviscid vertical velocity mode with can remain constant, and an ideal vertical magnetic mode with can also remain constant.

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