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Maximize the leading thin-layer squared growth rate, $(L_1/{\rho }_1)(A{k}^2-\gamma k^4)$. Its positive stationary point obeys $2Ak-4\gamma k^3=0$ and is the unique interior maximum. ThereforeThe maximizing point stays within the thin-layer regime because $k_m{L}_1\sim k_c{L}_1/\sqrt{2}\ll 1$.

A normal mode $x\propto e^{-i\omega t}$ has eigenvalue $\lambda =-i\omega$ of $A$. Setting $d_{\omega }=\omega -{\omega }_1$, the characteristic equation isThusOne branch then has positive imaginary frequency and hence positive exponential growth rate. If $4ac<b^2$, both frequencies are real and the distinct-eigenvalue system has bounded oscillatory motion. At equality there is no positive exponential growth rate, but a nontrivial Jordan block can cause algebraic growth, so exponential neutrality must not be confused with Lyapunov stability. The parameter $d$ listed in the PDF does not appear in the printed matrix and has no effect on this calculation.

Take $x$ in the injection direction and $y$ along the flat interface. The specified $U$ must be a Darcy velocity, so the pore-fluid velocity and unperturbed interface speed are $U/\varphi$. Write the perturbed interface as $x=X(t)+\eta (y,t)$, with $\dot{X}=U/\varphi$, and choose the normal from fluid 1 into fluid 2. The background pressure gradients from Darcy law are ${\partial }_x{p}_i^{(0)}=-{\mu }_{i}U/k$.

By incompressibility and uniform permeability of a porous medium, pressure perturbations are harmonic functions. A transverse Fourier mode with positive wavenumber $\alpha$ has the decaying formsThe kinematic boundary condition and equal normal Darcy flux implyWithout capillarity the pressure is continuous at the displaced interface. Its linear perturbation is thereforeConsequently the planar viscous-fingering dispersion relation reduces toThis is the Saffman–Taylor instability: less viscous fluid advances preferentially through protrusions. Without a short-wave regularizing mechanism the idealized rate has no finite maximum.

For the prescribed apparent capillary pressure, the chosen normal is $\mathbf{n}=(1,-{\eta }_y)/\sqrt{1+{\eta }_y^2}$, so $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{n}=-{\eta }_{yy}+O({\eta }^2)={\alpha }^2\eta +O({\eta }^2)$. Subtract the flat-front pressure jump $\gamma (1+\beta X){\kappa }_0$. Linearization of the jump at $x=X+\eta$ givesThere is no first-order product of the surface-tension perturbation and the perturbed macroscopic curvature. ThusUsing the capillary number convention $\mathrm{Ca}={\mu }_{2}U/\gamma$ and ${\mu }_2/({\mu }_1+{\mu }_2)=(1+M)/2$, this isIf $x$ is measured from the unperturbed front and $\gamma$ denotes its local apparent tension, set $X=0$ to obtain the usual fixed-coefficient expression. For a physically fixed spatial gradient, $X=Ut/\varphi$ and the displayed rate is an instantaneous, generally time-dependent growth rate; the amplitude solves $\dot{a}=\sigma (\alpha ;X(t))a$, rather than one constant exponential law for the entire displacement. The parameter $\beta$ has dimensions of inverse length; the absolute tension gradient is $\gamma \beta$.

Assume $1+\beta X>0$, as required for positive apparent surface tension, and define $A=({\mu }_2-{\mu }_1)U-k\gamma \beta {\kappa }_0$. If $A>0$, unstable modes satisfy $0<{\alpha }^2<A/[k\gamma (1+\beta X)]$. Differentiating the cubic dispersion relation gives the fastest-growing modeWhen $A\le 0$, every nonzero mode decays, with a neutral zero-wavenumber translation in the infinite-domain limit. For $\beta {\kappa }_0>0$, surface-tension-gradient stabilization of viscous fingering suppresses the instability entirely at positive injection speeds satisfyingIf $\beta {\kappa }_0\le 0$, no positive injection speed eliminates every long-wave unstable mode in an unbounded interface. The prescribed wetting variation is treated as an effective normal pressure law for porous-media flow.

Eliminate the transport amplitudes in the linear stability analysis. For a general bed shear response $\mathcal{T}(k)$, the dispersion relation isThis is the most specific result available without adding the missing hydrodynamic closure. With $\mathcal{T}(k)={\tau }_{0}k(A+iB)$, setMultiplication by $1-ix$ gives the growth rate and migration velocityThe packed-bed volume fraction cancels. For a real physical closure the negative wavenumber response is the complex conjugate; the displayed $k>0$ formulas cover the independent normal modes.

If $A>0$, $B>0$ are treated as constants, the upstream shear stress phase lead promotes growth, while the inclined-bed sediment threshold reduces it and the finite saturation length delays sediment transport. There is an unstable band precisely when $b>0$: $0<k<b/(a{L}_{\mathrm{sat}})$. Within this band $c>0$, so the growing bedforms migrate downstream. The fastest normal mode satisfiesThis last maximization assumes constant $A,B$; if the hydrodynamic coefficients vary with wavenumber, their derivatives also enter the selection condition. When $b\le 0$ and $a>0$, all nonzero normal modes decay.

Just above the sediment entrainment threshold,Thus the common regime $B<1/{\mu }_s$ is stable near onset: the slope penalty overwhelms the hydrodynamic phase lead. This conclusion is conditional on that inequality, not universal. For constant $B>0$, instability begins only when ${\tau }_0>{\tau }_{\mathrm{th},0}/({\mu }_{s}B)$ as well as ${\tau }_0>{\tau }_{\mathrm{th},0}$. The transport sensitivity $C=\chi \gamma {\Delta }^{\gamma -1}$ vanishes at onset for $\gamma >1$, is finite for $\gamma =1$, and is singular for $0<\gamma <1$. Exactly at threshold, the positive-part transport law needs separate treatment; the above linearization with perturbations small compared with $\Delta$ is unavailable.

Far above the sediment entrainment threshold, $b\simeq {\tau }_{0}B$. If $A,B>0$, the unstable cutoff tends to $B/(A{L}_{\mathrm{sat}})$, and the dominant wavelength is set by the saturation length. Both growth rate and migration velocity scale with $C{\tau }_0\sim \chi \gamma {\tau }_0^{\gamma }$, apart from their length factors. Their numerical values and any detailed dependence on wavenumber still require a flow closure.

For example, prescribing uniform shear stress independently of the bed gives $\mathcal{T}=0$ andThis equally admissible closure illustrates why instability cannot be asserted from the printed sediment equations alone.

The plots use constant $a>0$ and three illustrative ratios $b/a$. They show how the sign of the shear phase lead minus the slope correction determines stability; they are not numerical predictions for unspecified flow conditions.

Take $k>0$; reflection in $x$ supplies the result for negative wavenumber. Since each region has uniform base velocity, the perturbation is an incompressible, irrotational flow with a velocity potential satisfying the Laplace equation. Its decaying outer forms areFor a varicose mode of a planar jet, reflection symmetry makes the inner potential proportional to $\cosh (ky)$; for a sinuous mode of a planar jet, it is proportional to $\sinh (ky)$.

At the upper interface, the linearized kinematic boundary condition isThe first equation gives ${\varphi }_{+}(h)=-\sigma \eta /k$. The second givesThe linearized Unsteady Bernoulli equation gives $p^{\prime }=-\rho ({\partial }_t+U{\partial }_x)\varphi$. Applying pressure continuity therefore produces the equal-density top-hat planar-jet dispersion relationSolving the quadratic equation givesEquivalently,The plus sign is the unstable Kelvin-Helmholtz instability branch. In particular, the two modes have exactly the same growth rate,Its limiting forms areThus neither type grows faster in this equal-density idealization, although their phase speeds differ. The unbounded large-$k$ growth is the familiar short-wave pathology of an inviscid vortex sheet.

For large $\alpha$, the coupling $e^{-kh}=e^{-2\alpha }$ is exponentially weak. If each interface were isolated, its interfacial gravity waves would have dimensional phase velocities $U(z_{\pm })\pm \sqrt{d}$, orThe upper-interface wave travelling against its positive local current has speed $1-\sqrt{J/(2\alpha )}$. The lower-interface wave travelling against its negative current has speed $-1+\sqrt{J/(2\alpha )}$. Their laboratory speeds match at zero when $J=2\alpha$. Weak interaction then produces counterpropagating wave instability rather than two independent travelling waves.

The band has the large-wavenumber form $J=2\alpha \pm 2\alpha e^{-2\alpha }+O(\alpha e^{-4\alpha })$. Exactly at resonance, $\mathrm{Im}\tilde{c}\sim e^{-2\alpha }/2$, soThus the instability window and growth rate both become exponentially small as the interfaces become weakly coupled.

Linearizing about the conductive state givesThe perturbations vanish at $z=0,1$. For a normal mode with vertical dependence $\sin (n\pi z)$, put $q=k^2+n^2{\pi }^2$. The two modal equations are $-q\hat{\psi }=-ikR\hat{\theta }$ and $s\hat{\theta }+ik\hat{\psi }=-q\hat{\theta }$. Eliminating $\hat{\psi }$ givesNeutrality requires $R=(k^2+n^2{\pi }^2{)}^2/k^2$. The arithmetic-geometric mean inequality bounds this below by $4n^2{\pi }^2$, with equality at $k=n\pi$. The first unstable vertical mode is therefore $n=1$, givingThe wavelength statement applies at the first onset. At a general larger $R$, maximizing the growth rate within a fixed vertical mode gives $k^2=n\pi \sqrt{R}-n^2{\pi }^2$, so its preferred wavelength need not remain exactly two. This is the onset of convection in a horizontal Darcy layer.

Melting raises permeability of a porous medium. An advancing protrusion therefore offers a less resistive path to hot liquid, attracting larger Darcy flux and receiving more heat. The resulting faster melting reinforces the protrusion: this is a reactive infiltration instability. A permeability decrease would reverse this feedback, while zero contrast gives no growth in this ideal model.

For positive contrast, the growth rate is proportional to transverse wavenumber, so the model has no finite fastest-growing wavelength. The latent-to-sensible heat ratio slows the front but supplies no short-wave cutoff. Finite thermal transport and a resolved melting zone can introduce a length scale; pore geometry eventually limits the continuum description. If interface curvature changes the equilibrium melting temperature through the Gibbs--Thomson relation, that can also oppose short-wave corrugations. The modified dispersion relation must include such effects before a preferred wavelength can be calculated; a length scale alone does not guarantee that every added mechanism selects one.

Put $q=|k|$. Decay at infinity and the symmetry of the disturbance suggest the mode potentialsThe middle potential is an even function of $y$ because its vertical derivative must take opposite values at the two interfaces. The upper kinematic conditions giveThe lower conditions give the same two relations. The upper dynamic condition isEliminating $A$, $B$ and ${\eta }_0$ yields the dispersion relationWriting $C=\coth (qh)$, its two roots areFor every real $k\ne 0$, $C>0$ and one root has the positive growth rateThus every nonzero wavenumber is linearly unstable in this inviscid vortex sheet model; $k=0$ is neutral.

Linearization about $w=0$ removes the quadratic term and givesThe three homogeneous boundary conditions select the vertical normal modesTake a horizontal Laplacian eigenfunction satisfyingOn $W_{j}f$, the full Laplacian has eigenvalue $-(a^2+j^2{\pi }^2)$. The growth rate is consequentlyNeutrality occurs atFor fixed nonzero $a$, this increases strictly with $j$, so the first unstable vertical mode is $j=1$ and

Write the base-state gradients asThe base heat flux and Stefan condition relations are

Under the quasi-stationary approximation, and with advective heat transport neglected, each temperature perturbation satisfies the Laplace equation. The decaying normal-mode solutions areKeeping the displaced ice interface at $T_m$ omits the curvature correction described by the Gibbs--Thomson relation.
The fixed melting temperature at the displaced ice interface givesExpanding temperature and conductive heat flux continuity at the displaced outer interface gives

Put $r=k_a/k_w$. Since $G_a=G_w/r$, the temperature condition in the limits $r\ll 1$ and $\alpha h\ll 1$ givesAlthough $r$ is small, the product $rC$ is therefore order one and cannot be discarded. The flux condition then givesThis is why the stated asymptotic warning matters.

The perturbed Stefan condition at $x=0$ isUsing $B\sim {\eta }_2{G}_w$ and $-k_w{G}_w={\rho }_i{L}_{f}V$ yieldsSubstitution of the interface-amplitude ratio from part i produces the thin-film icicle-ripple instability dispersion relation

Set $b=\Gamma h{\alpha }^3$. Rationalizing this complex number givesso its growth rate and imaginary part areDifferentiating the growth rate with respect to the wavenumber shows that its positive stationary point satisfiesIt is the unique global maximum, and henceAt this wavenumber $b=1/\sqrt{5}$. With the convention $e^{i\alpha z+\sigma t}$, a constant phase travels with phase velocityThereforeBecause $z$ increases downward, the negative sign means that the icicle ripples migrate upward with speed $\sqrt{5}V/6$.

Let $ϵ=\Omega /(\nu k^2)\ll 1$ and $s=ϵ\Omega s_1+\cdots$. Since $D=\Omega /ϵ+O(ϵ\Omega )$, the leading terms ofgiveThe mode is unstable for every $\boxed{N^2<0}$, a weaker criterion than the inviscid condition. Strong viscosity damps the velocity response and removes the rapid epicyclic restoration, permitting a slow viscous-convective instability; its growth rate nevertheless tends to zero on very small scales.

Combining the Exner equation, sediment transport saturation, bed shear response, and inclined-bed sediment threshold gives a competition between upstream forcing and downstream relaxation. With $a={\tau }_{0}A$, $b={\tau }_{0}B-{\tau }_{\mathrm{th},0}/{\mu }_s$, $C=\chi \gamma ({\tau }_0-{\tau }_{\mathrm{th},0}{)}^{\gamma -1}$, and positive wavenumber $k$, the growth rate is $\sigma =C{k}^2(b-ak{L}_{\mathrm{sat}})/(1+k^2{L}_{\mathrm{sat}}^2)$. Thus $b>0$ permits long-wave growth when $a>0$, while a finite saturation length stabilizes shorter waves.

For a fixed-temperature layer with stress-free boundary conditions, a vertical Fourier sine series has $a^2={\lambda }^2+n^2{\pi }^2$, where $\lambda$ is horizontal wavenumber. The coupled vertical velocity and temperature amplitudes satisfy the displayed quadratic for their growth rate $\sigma$. Its roots are real for positive Rayleigh number, while both roots have negative real parts for negative Rayleigh number. Setting $\sigma =0$ gives the free-slip convection neutral curve.