Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / iii / Paper 331 / 3

Under the convention $e^{i(kx-\omega t)}$, a mode's amplitude grows as $e^{{\omega }_{i}t}$. The linear stability analysis of real-wavenumber disturbances is therefore summarized byAt ${\omega }_{i,\max }=0$ there is marginal or neutral hydrodynamic stability: no normal mode grows exponentially, but some may fail to decay. If “linearly stable” includes neutral modes, its condition is ${\omega }_{i,\max }\le 0$. These modal statements do not rule out transient growth from non-normal modes or algebraic growth.

The fixed observer is the ray $V=0$. The physically selected zero-group velocity saddle defines the absolute wavenumber $k_0$ and absolute frequency ${\omega }_0$:For a smooth frequency branch with $D_{\omega }\ne 0$, the saddle condition is equivalently $D_k(k_0,{\omega }_0)=0$. The absolute growth rate isHere $k_0$ and ${\omega }_0$ can be complex. A physical saddle point is selected by the localized impulse response and deformation of its Fourier transform contour; an arbitrary algebraic stationary point need not determine absolute hydrodynamic instability.

For a temporally unstable base flow, the relevant saddle growth rate along a ray distinguishes two cases in the chosen observation frame:A convective hydrodynamic instability amplifies a travelling wave packet but lets a localized disturbance decay at any fixed point. An absolute hydrodynamic instability grows at a fixed point. The separating case $\sigma (0)=0$ is marginal in exponential rate and can have an algebraic prefactor. In a frame moving with $V$, replace $\sigma (0)$ by $\sigma (V)=\mathrm{Im}({\omega }_{\star }-V{k}_{\star })$: this distinction depends on the observation frame.

In the linear complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, take $U,c_d,\mu$ real. $U$ gives advection, carrying the envelope downstream at speed $U$. $c_d$ gives wave dispersion: the imaginary part of the second-derivative coefficient changes wave phase without directly dissipating a real-wavenumber Fourier mode. $\mu$ gives local linear production or damping: a spatially uniform perturbation grows for $\mu >0$ and decays for $\mu <0$.

The real part of the diffusion coefficient is the scaled value one. It smooths the envelope and damps a real-wavenumber Fourier mode at rate $k^2$. Thus the linear complex Ginzburg-Landau equation models competing advection, smoothing through a diffusion equation, wave dispersion and local growth, rather than nonlinear saturation.

For a normal mode, ${\partial }_t\mapsto -i\omega$, ${\partial }_x\mapsto ik$, and ${\partial }_x^2\mapsto -k^2$. Substitution into the linear complex Ginzburg-Landau equation givesTherefore the dispersion relation isFor real $k$, its temporal growth rate is ${\omega }_i=\mu -k^2$, with unique maximum $\mu$ at $k=0$. Its real angular frequency is $Uk+c_d{k}^2$, displaying the separate advection and wave dispersion terms.

The dispersion relation gives the zero-group velocity saddleThus the absolute growth rate is $\sigma (0)=\mu -U^2/[4(1+c_d^2)]$. More generally the saddle growth rate along a ray isso a frame travelling at $V=U$ sees the maximal rate $\mu$.

For $U>0$, the three open regions areThe line $\mu =0$ is the temporal marginal boundary; the parabola $\mu =U^2/[4(1+c_d^2)]$ is the convective-to-absolute boundary. The Green function of the linear complex Ginzburg-Landau equation has the prefactor $t^{-1/2}$, so zero exponential rate on the latter boundary still allows algebraic decay of the impulse response. This is the stability diagram of the linear complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

Impermeability requires $\hat{w}(-1)=\hat{w}(1)=0$. Let $c=\omega /\alpha$ with real $\alpha \ne 0$, and set $a=|\alpha |$. If $c$ is nonreal, or real outside the channel, the Rayleigh equation for inviscid shear flow gives ${\hat{w}}^{\prime \prime }-a^2\hat{w}=0$ everywhere. The two wall conditions then force $\hat{w}=0$. In fact there is no nonzero globally smooth eigenfunction for any $c$: the complete family is the inviscid Couette continuous spectrum.

For each $\xi \in (-1,1)$, permit a localized vorticity sheet. Let $G_a$ be the Dirichlet Green function satisfying $(D^2-a^2)G_a(z,\xi )=\delta (z-\xi )$. An explicit generalized eigenfunction iswhere $z_{<}=\min (z,\xi )$ and $z_{>}=\max (z,\xi )$. It vanishes at both walls, is continuous at $z=\xi$, and has derivative jump $[{\partial }_z{G}_a{]}_{{\xi }^{-}}^{{\xi }^{+}}=1$. Consequentlyusing the Dirac delta multiplication identity. These are vorticity-sheet eigenfunctions of inviscid Couette flow, understood as generalized eigenfunctions, not as a discrete smooth Sturm-Liouville eigenfunction expansion.

To see completeness, define the vorticity variable $q=(D^2-a^2)w$. Its evolution is $({\partial }_t+i\alpha z)q=0$, so for any admissible initial vorticity $q_0$,The homogeneous Dirichlet problem for $D^2-a^2$ has only the zero solution, so this inversion reconstructs every initial vertical-velocity field in its usual function space. The generalized frequencies fill the interval with endpoints $\pm \alpha$; the endpoint values are understood as the closure of the continuous spectrum.

Every generalized frequency in the inviscid Couette continuous spectrum is real: ${\omega }_{\xi }=\alpha \xi$ for real $\alpha ,\xi$. Thus every time factor has unit modulus and there is no exponentially growing normal mode:The vorticity equation also gives $q(z,t)=q_0(z)e^{-i\alpha zt}$, preserving its $L^2$ norm. For fixed nonzero $\alpha$, the bounded Dirichlet Green function inversion therefore gives a uniform bound on the reconstructed velocity in terms of the initial vorticity norm. Superpositions can still rearrange their velocity energy and display transient growth from non-normal modes; neutral hydrodynamic stability does not require every velocity component to decrease monotonically. Treating only smooth discrete modes would miss this continuous neutral family.