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arXiv · 2504.13001

Nonlinear wave dynamics on a chip

Matthew T. Reeves·Walter W. Wasserman·Raymond A. Harrison·Igor Marinkovic·Nicole Luu·Andreas Sawadsky·Yasmine L. Sfendla·Glen I. Harris·Warwick P. Bowen·Christopher G. Baker
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Abstract

Shallow water waves are a striking example of nonlinear hydrodynamics, giving rise to phenomena such as tsunamis and undular waves. These dynamics are typically studied in hundreds-of-meter-long wave flumes. Here, we demonstrate a chip-scale, quantum-enabled wave flume. The wave flume exploits nanometer-thick superfluid helium films and optomechanical interactions to achieve nonlinearities surpassing those of extreme terrestrial flows. Measurements reveal wave steepening, shock fronts, and soliton fission -- nonlinear behaviors long predicted in superfluid helium but never previously directly observed. Our approach enables lithography-defined wave flume geometries, optomechanical control of hydrodynamic properties, and orders of magnitude faster measurements than terrestrial flumes. Together, this opens a new frontier in hydrodynamics, combining quantum fluids and nanophotonics to explore complex wave dynamics at microscale.

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BibTeXRIS

Matthew T. Reeves, Walter W. Wasserman, Raymond A. Harrison, Igor Marinkovic, Nicole Luu, Andreas Sawadsky, Yasmine L. Sfendla, Glen I. Harris, Warwick P. Bowen, Christopher G. Baker. 2025-04-17. Nonlinear wave dynamics on a chip. https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.13001

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