Observation of star-shapes surface gravity waves.

Jean Rajchenbach (1) , Didier Clamond (2) , Alphonse Leroux (1)

1 LPMC - Laboratoire de physique de la matière condensée
2 JAD - Laboratoire Jean Alexandre Dieudonné

We report a new type of standing gravity waves of large amplitude, having alternatively the shape of a star and of a polygon. This wave is observed by means of a laboratory experiment by vibrating vertically a tank. The symmetry of the star (i.e. the number of branches) is independent of the container form and size, and can be changed according to the amplitude and frequency of the vibration. We show that a nonlinearresonant coupling between three gravity waves can be envisaged to trigger the observed symmetry breaking, although more complex interactions take certainly place in the final periodic state.

Mots clés: fluid mechanics; nonlinear waves; patterning

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Dynamique des Fluides [physics.flu-dyn]

Jean Rajchenbach, Didier Clamond, Alphonse Leroux. Observation of star-shapes surface gravity waves.. Physical Review Letters, 2013, 110 (9), pp.094502. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.094502⟩. ⟨hal-00789381v4⟩