arXiv subjects

Miguel Onorato

Publications and source records attributed to Miguel Onorato.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Weak versus strong wave turbulence in the MMT model

Within the spirit of fluid turbulence, we consider the one-dimensional Majda-McLaughlin-Tabak (MMT) model that describes the interactions of nonlinear dispersive waves. We perform a detailed numerical study of the direct energy cascade in the defocusing regime. In particular, we consider a configuration with large-scale forcing and small scale dissipation, and we introduce three non- dimensional parameters: the ratio between nonlinearity and dispersion, ε, and the analogues of the Reynolds number, Re, i.e. the ratio between the nonlinear and dissipative time-scales, both at large and small scales. Our numerical experiments show that (i) in the limit of small ε the spectral slope observed in the statistical steady regime corresponds to the one predicted by the Weak Wave Turbulence (WWT) theory. (ii) As the nonlinearity is increased, the WWT theory breaks down and deviations from its predictions are observed. (iii) It is shown that such departures from the WWT theoretical predictions are accompanied by the phenomenon of intermittency, typical of three dimensional fluid turbulence. We calculate the structure-function as well as the probability density function of the wave field at each scale and show that the degree of intermittency depends on ε.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2015

A route to thermalization in the $α$-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam system

We study the original $α$-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) system with $N=16,32$ and $64$ masses connected by a nonlinear quadratic spring. Our approach is based on resonant wave-wave interaction theory, i.e. we assume that, in the weakly nonlinear regime (the one in which Fermi was originally interested), the large time dynamics is ruled by exact resonances. After a detailed analysis of the $α$-FPU equation of motion, we find that the first non trivial resonances correspond to six-wave interactions. Those are precisely the interactions responsible for the thermalization of the energy in the spectrum. We predict that for small amplitude random waves the time scale of such interactions is extremely large and it is of the order of $1/ε^8$, where $ε$ is the small parameter in the system. The wave-wave interaction theory is not based on any threshold: equipartition is predicted for arbitrary small nonlinearity. Our results are supported by extensive numerical simulations. A key role in our finding is played by the {\it Umklapp} (flip over) resonant interactions, typical of discrete systems. The thermodynamic limit is also briefly discussed.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2014

Bose-Einstein condensation and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in 2D Nonlinear Schrödinger model

We analyse the Bose-Einstein condensation process and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition within the Gross-Pitaevskii model and their interplay with wave turbulence theory. By using numerical experiments we study how the condensate fraction and the first order correlation function behave with respect to the mass, the energy and the size of the system. By relating the free-particle energy to the temperature we are able to estimate the Berezinskii-Kousterlitz-Thouless transition temperature. Below this transition we observe that for a fixed temperature the superfluid fraction appears to be size-independent leading to a power-law dependence of the condensate fraction with respect to the system size.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2014

Torus quantum vortex knots in the Gross-Pitaevskii model for Bose-Einstein condensates

We examine on the static and dynamical properties of quantum knots in a Bose-Einstein condensate. In particular, we consider the Gross-Pitaevskii model and revise a technique to construct ab initio the condensate wave-function of a generic torus knot. After analysing its excitation energy, we study its dynamics relating the topological parameter to its translational velocity and characteristic size. We also investigate the breaking mechanisms of non shape-preserving torus knots confirming an evidence of universal decaying behaviour previously observed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Vector Rogue Waves and Baseband Modulation Instability in the Defocusing Regime

We report and discuss analytical solutions of the vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation that describe rogue waves in the defocusing regime. This family of solutions includes bright-dark and dark-dark rogue waves. The link between modulational instability (MI) and rogue waves is displayed by showing that only a peculiar kind of MI, namely baseband MI, can sustain rogue wave formation. The existence of vector rogue waves in the defocusing regime is expected to be a crucial progress in explaining extreme waves in a variety of physical scenarios described by multi-component systems, from oceanography to optics and plasma physics.

nlin.SI↗

arXiv2013

Interaction and decay of Kelvin waves in the Gross-Pitaevskii model

By solving numerically the governing Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we study the dynamics of Kelvin waves on a superfluid vortex. After determining the dispersion relation, we monitor the turbulent decay of Kelvin waves with energy initially concentrated at large length scales. At intermediate length scales, we find that the decay is consistent with scaling predictions of theoretical models. Finally we report the unexpected presence of large-length scale phonons in the system.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Simulations and experiments of short intense envelope solitons of surface water waves

The problem of existence of stable nonlinear groups of gravity waves in deep water is revised by means of laboratory and numerical simulations with the focus on intense waves. Wave groups with steepness up to $A_{cr} ω_m^2 /g \approx 0.30$ are reproduced in laboratory experiments ($A_{cr}$ is the wave crest amplitude, $ω_m$ is the mean angular frequency and $g$ is the gravity acceleration). We show that the groups remain stable and exhibit neither noticeable radiation nor structural transformation for more than 60 wave lengths or about 15-30 group lengths. These solitary wave patterns differ from the conventional envelope solitons, as only a few individual waves are contained in the group. Very good agreement is obtained between the laboratory results and strongly nonlinear numerical simulations of the potential Euler equations. The envelope soliton solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation is shown to be a reasonable first approximation for specifying the wavemaker driving signal. The short intense envelope solitons possess vertical asymmetry similar to regular Stokes waves with the same frequency and crest amplitude. Nonlinearity is found to have remarkably stronger effect on the speed of envelope solitons in comparison to the nonlinear correction to the Stokes wave velocity.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Approximate rogue wave solutions of the forced and damped Nonlinear Schrödinger equation for water waves

We consider the effect of the wind and the dissipation on the nonlinear stages of the modulational instability. By applying a suitable transformation, we map the forced/damped Nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation into the standard NLS with constant coefficients. The transformation is valid as long as |Γt| \ll 1, with Γ the growth/damping rate of the waves due to the wind/dissipation. Approximate rogue wave solutions of the equation are presented and discussed. The results shed some lights on the effects of wind and dissipation on the formation of rogue waves.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2011

Vortex knots in a Bose-Einstein condensate

We present a method for numerically building a vortex knot state in the superfluid wave-function of a Bose-Einstein condensate. We integrate in time the governing Gross-Pitaevskii equation to determine evolution and stability of the two (topologically) simplest vortex knots which can be wrapped over a torus. We find that the velocity of a vortex knot depends on the ratio of poloidal and toroidal radius: for smaller ratio, the knot travels faster. Finally, we show how unstable vortex knots break up into vortex rings.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2011

Triggering rogue waves in opposing currents

We show that rogue waves can be triggered naturally when a stable wave train enters a region of an opposing current flow. We demonstrate that the maximum amplitude of the rogue wave depends on the ratio between the current velocity, $ U_0 $, and the wave group velocity, $ c_g $. We also reveal that an opposing current can force the development of rogue waves in random wave fields, resulting in a substantial change of the statistical properties of the surface elevation. The present results can be directly adopted in any field of physics in which the focusing Nonlinear Schrodinger equation with non constant coefficient is applicable. In particular, nonlinear optics laboratory experiments are natural candidates for verifying experimentally our results.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2011

Warm turbulence in the Boltzmann equation

We study the single-particle distributions of three-dimensional hard sphere gas described by the Boltzmann equation. We focus on the steady homogeneous isotropic solutions in thermodynamically open conditions, i.e. in the presence of forcing and dissipation. We observe nonequilibrium steady state solution characterized by a warm turbulence, that is an energy and particle cascade superimposed on the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. We use a dimensional analysis approach to relate the thermodynamic quantities of the steady state with the characteristics of the forcing and dissipation terms. In particular, we present an analytical prediction for the temperature of the system which we show to be dependent only on the forcing and dissipative scales. Numerical simulations of the Boltzmann equation support our analytical predictions.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2011

Nonequilibrium steady solutions of the Boltzmann equation

We report a study of the homogeneous isotropic Boltzmann equation for an open system. We seek for nonequilibrium steady solutions in presence of forcing and dissipation. Using the language of weak turbulence theory, we analyze the possibility to observe Kolmogorov-Zakharov steady distributions. We derive a differential approximation model and we find that the expected nonequilibrium steady solutions have always the form of warm cascades. We propose an analytical prediction for relation between the forcing and dissipation and the thermodynamic quantities of the system. Specifically, we find that the temperature of the system is independent of the forcing amplitude and determined only by the forcing and dissipation scales. Finally, we perform direct numerical simulations of the Boltzmann equation finding consistent results with our theoretical predictions.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2010

Sustained turbulence in the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii model

We study the 3D forced-dissipated Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We force at relatively low wave numbers, expecting to observe a direct energy cascade and a consequent power-law spectrum of the form $k^{-α}$. Our numerical results show that the exponent $α$ strongly depends on how the inverse particle cascade is attenuated at $k$'s lower than the forcing wave number. If the inverse cascade is arrested by a friction at low $k$'s, we observe an exponent which is in good agreement with the weak wave turbulence prediction $k^{-1}$. For a hypo-viscosity, a $k^{-2}$ spectrum is observed which we explain using a critical balance argument. In simulations without any low-$k$ dissipation, a condensate at $k=0$ is growing and the system goes through a strongly-turbulent transition from a four-wave to a three-wave weak turbulence acoustic regime with $k^{-3/2}$ Zakharov-Sagdeev spectrum. In this regime, we also observe a spectrum for the incompressible kinetic energy which formally resembles the Kolmogorov $k^{-5/3}$, but whose correct explanation should be in terms of the Kelvin wave turbulence. The probability density functions for the velocities and the densities are also discussed.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2009

Energy cascades and spectra in turbulent Bose-Einstein condensates

We present a numerical study of turbulence in Bose-Einstein condensates within the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We concentrate on the direct energy cascade in forced-dissipated systems. We show that behavior of the system is very sensitive to the properties of the model at the scales greater than the forcing scale, and we identify three different universal regimes: (1) a non-stationary regime with condensation and transition from a four-wave to a three-wave interaction process when the largest scales are not dissipated, (2) a steady weak wave turbulence regime when largest scales are dissipated with a friction-type dissipation, (3) a state with a scale-by-scale balance of the linear and the nonlinear timescales when the large-scale dissipation is a hypo-viscosity.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2006

Freely decaying turbulence and Bose-Einstein condensation in Gross-Pitaevski model

We study turbulence and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) within the two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevski (GP) model. In the present work, we compute decaying GP turbulence in order to establish whether BEC can occur without forcing and if there is an intensity threshold for this process. We use the wavenumber-frequency plots which allow us to clearly separate the condensate and the wave components and,therefore, to conclude if BEC is present. We observe that BEC in such a system happens even for very weakly nonlinear initial conditions without any visible threshold. BEC arises via a growing phase coherence due to anihilation of phase defects/vortices. We study this process by tracking of propagating vortex pairs. The pairs loose momentum by scattering the background sound, which results in gradual decrease of the distance between the vortices. Occasionally, vortex pairs collide with a third vortex thereby emitting sound, which can lead to more sudden shrinking of the pairs. After the vortex anihilation the pulse propagates further as a dark soliton, and it eventually bursts creating a shock.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2005

Wave turbulence and vortices in Bose-Einstein condensation

We report a numerical study of turbulence and Bose-Einstein condensation within the two-dimmensional Gross-Pitaevski model with repulsive interaction. In presence of weak forcing localized around some wave number in the Fourier space, we observe three qualitatively different evolution stages. At the initial stage a thermodynamic energy equipartition spectrum forms at both smaller and larger scales with respect to the forcing scale. This agrees with predictions of the the four-wave kinetic equation of the Wave Turbulence (WT) theory. At the second stage, WT breaks down at large scales and the interactions become strongly nonlinear. Here, we observe formation of a gas of quantum vortices whose number decreases due to an annihilation process helped by the acoustic component. This process leads to formation of a coherent-phase Bose-Einstein condensate. After such a coherent-phase condensate forms, evolution enters a third stage characterised by three-wave interactions of acoustic waves that can be described again using the WT theory.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2001

Extreme Wave Events in Directional, Random Oceanic Sea States

We discuss the effects of the directional spreading on the occurrence of extreme wave events. We numerically integrate the envelope equation recently proposed by Trulsen et al., Phys of Fluids 2000, as a weakly nonlinear model for realistic oceanic gravity waves.Initial conditions for numerical simulations are characterized by the spatial JONSWAP power spectrum for several values of the significant wave height, steepness and directional spreading. We show that by increasing the directionality of the initial spectrum the appearance of extreme events is notably reduced.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2001

Freak Waves in Random Oceanic Sea States

Freak waves are very large, rare events in a random ocean wave train. Here we study the numerical generation of freak waves in a random sea state characterized by the JONSWAP power spectrum. We assume, to cubic order in nonlinearity, that the wave dynamics are governed by the nonlinear Schroedinger (NLS) equation. We identify two parameters in the power spectrum that control the nonlinear dynamics: the Phillips parameter $α$ and the enhancement coefficient $γ$. We discuss how freak waves in a random sea state are more likely to occur for large values of $α$ and $γ$. Our results are supported by extensive numerical simulations of the NLS equation with random initial conditions. Comparison with linear simulations are also reported.

nlin.CD↗