arXiv subjects

Mats Ehrnström

Publications and source records attributed to Mats Ehrnström.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

A plethora of fully localised solitary waves for the full-dispersion Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

The KP-I equation arises as a weakly nonlinear model equation for gravity-capillary waves with Bond number $β>1/3$, also called strong surface tension. This equation has recently been shown to have a family of nondegenerate, symmetric `fully localised' or `lump' solitary waves which decay to zero in all spatial directions. The full-dispersion KP-I equation is obtained by retaining the exact dispersion relation in the modelling from the water-wave problem. In this paper we show that the FDKP-I equation also has a family of symmetric fullly localised solitary waves which are obtained by casting it as a perturbation of the KP-I equation and applying a suitable variant of the implicit-function theorem.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

On the precise cusped behaviour of extreme solutions to Whitham-type equations

We prove exact leading-order asymptotic behaviour at the origin for nontrivial solutions of two families of nonlocal equations. The equations investigated include those satisfied by the cusped highest steady waves for both the uni- and bidirectional Whitham equations. The problem is therefore analogous to that of capturing the $120\unicode{xb0}$ interior angle at the crests of classical Stokes' waves of greatest height. In particular, our results partially settle conjectures for such extreme waves posed in a series of recent papers. Our methods may be generalised to solutions of other nonlocal equations, and can moreover be used to determine asymptotic behaviour of their derivatives to any order.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

A direct construction of a full family of Whitham solitary waves

Starting with the periodic waves earlier constructed for the gravity Whitham equation, we parameterise the solution curves through relative wave height, and use a limiting argument to obtain a full family of solitary waves. The resulting branch starts from the zero solution, traverses unique points in the wave speed-wave height space, and reaches a singular highest wave at $φ(0) = \fracμ{2}$. The construction is based on uniform estimates improved from earlier work on periodic waves for the same equation, together with limiting arguments and a Galilean transform to exclude vanishing waves and waves levelling off at negative surface depth. In fact, the periodic waves can be proved to converge locally uniformly to a wave with negative tails, which is then transformed to the desired branch of solutions. The paper also contains some proof concerning uniqueness and continuity for signed solutions (improved touching lemma).

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arXiv2022

Enhanced existence time of solutions to evolution equations of Whitham type

We show that Whitham type equations u_t + u u_x -L u_x = 0, where L is a general Fourier multiplier operator of order α\in [-1,1], α\neq 0, allow for small solutions to be extended beyond their expected existence time. The result is valid for a range of quadratic dispersive equations with inhomogeneous symbols in the dispersive range given by α, and should be extendable to other equations of the same relative dispersive strength.

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Existence of Davey--Stewartson type solitary waves for the fully dispersive Kadomtsev--Petviashvilii equation

We prove existence of small-amplitude modulated solitary waves for the full-dispersion Kadomtsev--Petviashvilii (FDKP) equation with weak surface tension. The resulting waves are small-order perturbations of scaled, translated and frequency-shifted solutions of a Davey--Stewartson (DS) type equation. The construction is variational and relies upon a series of reductive steps which transform the FDKP functional to a perturbed scaling of the DS functional, for which least-energy ground states are found. We also establish a convergence result showing that scalings of FDKP solitary waves converge to ground states of the DS functional as the scaling parameter tends to zero. Our method is robust and applies to nonlinear dispersive equations with the properties that (i) their dispersion relation has a global minimum (or maximum) at a non-zero wave number, and (ii) the associated formal weakly nonlinear analysis leads to a DS equation of elliptic-elliptic focussing type. We present full details for the FDKP equation.

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arXiv2020

Smooth stationary water waves with exponentially localized vorticity

We study stationary capillary-gravity waves in a two-dimensional body of water that rests above a flat ocean bed and below vacuum. This system is described by the Euler equations with a free surface. Our main result states that there exist large families of such waves that carry finite energy and exhibit an exponentially localized distribution of (nontrivial) vorticity. This is accomplished by combining ideas drawn from the theory of spike-layer solutions to singularly perturbed elliptic equations, with techniques from the study of steady solutions of the water wave problem.

math.AP↗

arXiv2019

Enhanced existence time of solutions to the fractional Korteweg-de Vries equation

We consider the fractional Korteweg-de Vries equation $u_t + u u_x - |D|^αu_x = 0$ in the range of $-1<α<1$ , $α\neq0$. Using basic Fourier techniques in combination with the modified energy method we extend the existence time of classical solutions with initial data of size $\varepsilon$ from $\frac{1}{\varepsilon}$ to a time scale of $\frac{1}{\varepsilon^2}$. This analysis, which is carried out in Sobolev space $H^N(\mathbb{R})$, $N \geq 3$, answers positively a question posed by Linares, Pilod and Saut (SIAM J. Math. Anal. 46 (2014), no. 2, 1505-1537).

math.AP↗

arXiv2019

On the bifurcation diagram of the capillary-gravity Whitham equation

We study the bifurcation of periodic travelling waves of the capillary-gravity Whitham equation. This is a nonlinear pseudo-differential equation that combines the canonical shallow water nonlinearity with the exact (unidirectional) dispersion for finite-depth capillary-gravity waves. Starting from the line of zero solutions, we give a complete description of all small periodic solutions, unimodal as well bimodal, using simple and double bifurcation via Lyapunov--Schmidt reductions. Included in this study is the resonant case when one wavenumber divides another. Some bifurcation formulas are studied, enabling us, in almost all cases, to continue the unimodal bifurcation curves into global curves. By characterizing the range of the surface tension parameter for which the integral kernel corresponding to the linear dispersion operator is completely monotone (and therefore positive and convex; the threshold value for this to happen turns out to be $T = \frac{4}{π^2}$, not the critical Bond number $\frac{1}{3}$), we are able to say something about the nodal properties of solutions, even in the presence of surface tension. Finally, we present a few general results for the equation and discuss, in detail, the complete bifurcation diagram as far as it is known from analytical and numerical evidence. Interestingly, we find, analytically, secondary bifurcation curves connecting different branches of solutions; and, numerically, that all supercritical waves preserve their basic nodal structure, converging asymptotically in $L^2(\SM)$ (but not in $L^\infty$) towards one of the two constant solution curves.

math.AP↗

arXiv2019

Classical well-posedness in dispersive equations with nonlinearities of mild regularity, and a composition theorem in Besov spaces

For both localized and periodic initial data, we prove local existence in classical energy space $H^s, s>\frac{3}{2}$, for a class of dispersive equations $u_{t}+(n(u))_{x}+Lu_{x}=0$ with nonlinearities of mild regularity. Our results are valid for symmetric Fourier multiplier operators $L$ whose symbol is of temperate growth, and $n(\cdot)$ in local Sobolev space $H^{s+2}_{\mathrm{loc}}(\mathbb{R})$. In particular, the results include non-smooth and exponentially growing nonlinearities. Our proof is based on a combination of semi-group methods and a new composition result for Besov spaces. In particular, we extend a previous result for Nemytskii operators on Besov spaces on $\mathbb{R}$ to the periodic setting by using the difference-derivative characterization of Besov spaces.

math.AP↗

arXiv2018

Existence of a highest wave in a fully dispersive two-way shallow water model

We consider the existence of periodic traveling waves in a bidirectional Whitham equation, combining the full two-way dispersion relation from the incompressible Euler equations with a canonical shallow water nonlinearity. Of particular interest is the existence of a highest, cusped, traveling wave solution, which we obtain as a limiting case at the end of the main bifurcation branch of $2π$-periodic traveling wave solutions continuing from the zero state. Unlike the unidirectional Whitham equation, containing only one branch of the full Euler dispersion relation, where such a highest wave behaves like $|x|^{1/2}$ near its crest, the cusped waves obtained here behave like $|x\log|x||$. Although the linear operator involved in this equation can be easily represented in terms of an integral operator, it maps continuous functions out of the Hölder and Lipschitz scales of function spaces by introducing logarithmic singularities. Since the nonlinearity is also of higher order than that of the unidirectional Whitham equation, several parts of our proofs and results deviate from those of the corresponding unidirectional equation, with the analysis of the logarithmic singularity being the most subtle component. This paper is part of a longer research programme for understanding the interplay between nonlinearities and dispersion in the formation of large-amplitude waves and their singularities.

math.AP↗

arXiv2018

Small-amplitude fully localised solitary waves for the full-dispersion Kadomtsev--Petviashvili equation

The KP-I equation \[ (u_t-2uu_x+\tfrac{1}{2}(β-\tfrac{1}{3})u_{xxx})_x -u_{yy}=0 \] arises as a weakly nonlinear model equation for gravity-capillary waves with strong surface tension (Bond number $β>1/3$). This equation admits --- as an explicit solution --- a `fully localised' or `lump' solitary wave which decays to zero in all spatial directions. Recently there has been interest in the \emph{full-dispersion KP-I equation} \[u_t + m({\mathrm D}) u_x + 2 u u_x = 0,\] where $m({\mathrm D})$ is the Fourier multiplier with symbol \[ m(k) = \left( 1 + β|k|^2|\right)^{\frac{1}{2}} \left( \frac{\tanh |k|}{|k|} \right)^{\frac{1}{2}} \left( 1 + \frac{2k_2^2}{k_1^2} \right)^{\frac{1}{2}}, \] which is obtained by retaining the exact dispersion relation from the water-wave problem. In this paper we show that the FDKP-I equation also has a fully localised solitary-wave solution. The existence theory is variational and perturbative in nature. A variational principle for fully localised solitary waves is reduced to a locally equivalent variational principle featuring a perturbation of the variational functional associated with fully localised solitary-wave solutions of the {KP-I} equation. A nontrivial critical point of the reduced functional is found by minimising it over its natural constraint set.

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arXiv2017

A conditional well-posedness result for the bidirectional Whitham equation

We consider the initial-value problem for the bidirectional Whitham equation, a system which combines the full two-way dispersion relation from the incompressible Euler equations with a canonical shallow-water nonlinearity. We prove local well-posedness in classical Sobolev spaces in the localised as well as the periodic case, using a square-root type transformation to symmetrise the system. The existence theory requires a non-vanishing surface elevation, indicating that the problem is ill-posed for more general initial data.

math.AP↗

arXiv2017

Symmetry and decay of traveling wave solutions to the Whitham equation

This paper is concerned with decay and symmetry properties of solitary wave solutions to a nonlocal shallow water wave model. It is shown that all supercritical solitary wave solutions are symmetric and monotone on either side of the crest. The proof is based on a priori decay estimates and the method of moving planes. Furthermore, a close relation between symmetric and traveling wave solutions is established.

math.AP↗

arXiv2016

Trimodal steady water waves

We construct three-dimensional families of small-amplitude gravity-driven rotational steady water waves on finite depth. The solutions contain counter-currents and multiple crests in each minimal period. Each such wave generically is a combination of three different Fourier modes, giving rise to a rich and complex variety of wave patterns. The bifurcation argument is based on a blow-up technique, taking advantage of three parameters associated with the vorticity distribution, the strength of the background stream, and the period of the wave.

math.AP↗

arXiv2012

On the existence and stability of solitary-wave solutions to a class of evolution equations of Whitham type

We consider a class of pseudodifferential evolution equations of the form $$u_t + (n(u) + Lu)_x = 0,$$ in which $L$ is a linear smoothing operator and $n$ is at least quadratic near the origin; this class includes in particular the Whitham equation. A family of solitary-wave solutions is found using a constrained minimisation principle and concentration-compactness methods for noncoercive functionals. The solitary waves are approximated by (scalings of) the corresponding solutions to partial differential equations arising as weakly nonlinear approximations; in the case of the Whitham equation the approximation is the Korteweg-deVries equation. We also demonstrate that the family of solitary-wave solutions is conditionally energetically stable.

math.AP↗

arXiv2011

Steady water waves with multiple critical layers

We construct small-amplitude periodic water waves with multiple critical layers. In addition to waves with arbitrarily many critical layers and a single crest in each period, two-dimensional sets of waves with several crests and troughs in each period are found. The setting is that of steady two-dimensional finite-depth gravity water waves with vorticity.

math.AP↗

arXiv2011

Steady water waves with multiple critical layers: interior dynamics

We study small-amplitude steady water waves with multiple critical layers. Those are rotational two-dimensional gravity-waves propagating over a perfect fluid of finite depth. It is found that arbitrarily many critical layers with cat's-eye vortices are possible, with different structure at different levels within the fluid. The corresponding vorticity depends linearly on the stream function.

math-ph↗

arXiv2009

Symmetric waves are traveling waves

We show that horizontally symmetric water waves are traveling waves. The result is valid for the Euler equations, and is based on a general principle that applies to a large class of nonlinear partial differential equations, including some of the most famous model equations for water waves. A detailed analysis is given for weak solutions of the Camassa-Holm equation. In addition, we establish the existence of nonsymmetric linear rotational waves for the Euler equations.

math.AP↗