A classification of mode-1 internal solitary waves in a three-layer fluid

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Barros, Ricardo, Doak, Alex, Choi, Wooyoung, Milewski, Paul
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Barros, Ricardo
Doak, Alex
Choi, Wooyoung
Milewski, Paul
author_facet Barros, Ricardo
Doak, Alex
Choi, Wooyoung
Milewski, Paul
contents We explore the bifurcation structure of mode-1 solitary waves in a three-layer fluid confined between two rigid boundaries. A recent study (Lamb, J. Fluid Mech. 2023, 962, A17) proposed a method to predict the coexistence of solitary waves with opposite polarity in a continuously stratified fluid with a double pycnocline by examining the conjugate states for the Euler equations. We extend this line of inquiry to a piecewise-constant three-layer stratification, taking advantage of the fact that the conjugate states for the Euler equations are exactly preserved by the strongly nonlinear model that we will refer to as the three-layer Miyata-Maltseva-Choi-Camassa (MMCC3) equations. In this reduced setting, solitary waves are governed by a Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom, whose critical points are used to explain the bifurcation structure. Through this analysis, we also discover families of solutions that have not been previously reported. Using the shared conjugate state structure between the MMCC3 model and the full Euler equations, we propose criteria for distinguishing the full range of solution behaviours. This alignment between the reduced and full models provides strong evidence that partitioning the parameter space into regions associated with distinct solution types is valid within both theories. This classification is further substantiated by numerical solutions to both models, which show excellent agreement.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_24669
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A classification of mode-1 internal solitary waves in a three-layer fluid
Barros, Ricardo
Doak, Alex
Choi, Wooyoung
Milewski, Paul
Fluid Dynamics
76B15, 76B25, 76B55
We explore the bifurcation structure of mode-1 solitary waves in a three-layer fluid confined between two rigid boundaries. A recent study (Lamb, J. Fluid Mech. 2023, 962, A17) proposed a method to predict the coexistence of solitary waves with opposite polarity in a continuously stratified fluid with a double pycnocline by examining the conjugate states for the Euler equations. We extend this line of inquiry to a piecewise-constant three-layer stratification, taking advantage of the fact that the conjugate states for the Euler equations are exactly preserved by the strongly nonlinear model that we will refer to as the three-layer Miyata-Maltseva-Choi-Camassa (MMCC3) equations. In this reduced setting, solitary waves are governed by a Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom, whose critical points are used to explain the bifurcation structure. Through this analysis, we also discover families of solutions that have not been previously reported. Using the shared conjugate state structure between the MMCC3 model and the full Euler equations, we propose criteria for distinguishing the full range of solution behaviours. This alignment between the reduced and full models provides strong evidence that partitioning the parameter space into regions associated with distinct solution types is valid within both theories. This classification is further substantiated by numerical solutions to both models, which show excellent agreement.
title A classification of mode-1 internal solitary waves in a three-layer fluid
topic Fluid Dynamics
76B15, 76B25, 76B55
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.24669