Hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability

In this paper, we investigate the three-dimensional instability of a counter-rotating vortex pair to short waves, which are of the order of the vortex core size, and less than the inter-vortex spacing. Our experiments involve detailed visualizations and velocimetry to reveal the spatial structure of the instability for a vortex pair, which is generated underwater by two rotating plates. We discover, in this work, a symmetry-breaking phase relationship between the two vortices, which we show to be consistent with a kinematic matching condition for the disturbances evolving on each vortex. In this sense, the instabilities in each vortex evolve in a coupled, or ‘cooperative’, manner. Further results demonstrate that this instability is a manifestation of an elliptic instability of the vortex cores, which is here identified clearly for the first time in a real open flow. We establish a relationship between elliptic instability and other theoretical instability studies involving Kelvin modes. In particular, we note that the perturbation shape near the vortex centres is unaffected by the finite size of the cores. We find that the long-term evolution of the flow involves the inception of secondary transverse vortex pairs, which develop near the leading stagnation point of the pair. The interaction of these short-wavelength structures with the long-wavelength Crow instability is studied, and we observe significant modifications in the longevity of large vortical structures.

Cooperative elliptic instability of a vortex pair.

Three‐dimensional flows of an inviscid incompressible fluid and an inviscid subsonic compressible gas are considered and it is demonstrated how the WKB method can be used for investigating their stability. The evolution of rapidly oscillating initial data is considered and it is shown that in both cases the corresponding flows are unstable if the transport equations associated with the wave which is advected by the flow have unbounded solutions. Analyzing the corresponding transport equations, a number of classical stability conditions are rederived and some new ones are obtained. In particular, it is demonstrated that steady flows of an incompressible fluid and an inviscid subsonic compressible gas are unstable if they have points of stagnation.

Local stability conditions in fluid dynamics

In this paper, we investigate the three-dimensional instability of a counter-rotating vortex pair to short waves, which are of the order of the vortex core size, and less than the inter-vortex spacing. Our experiments involve detailed visualizations and velocimetry to reveal the spatial structure of the instability for a vortex pair, which is generated underwater by two rotating plates. We discover, in this work, a symmetrybreaking phase relationship between the two vortices, which we show to be consistent with a kinematic matching condition for the disturbances evolving on each vortex. In this sense, the instabilities in each vortex evolve in a coupled, or ‘cooperative’, manner. Further results demonstrate that this instability is a manifestation of an elliptic instability of the vortex cores, which is here identied clearly for the rst time in a real open flow. We establish a relationship between elliptic instability and other theoretical instability studies involving Kelvin modes. In particular, we note that the perturbation shape near the vortex centres is unaected by the nite size of the cores. We nd that the long-term evolution of the flow involves the inception of secondary transverse vortex pairs, which develop near the leading stagnation point of the pair. The interaction of these short-wavelength structures with the long-wavelength Crow instability is studied, and we observe signicant modications in the longevity of large vortical structures.

Cooperative elliptic instability of a vortex pair

This paper provides an overview of stellar instabilities as sources of gravitational waves. The aim is to put recent work on secular and dynamical instabilities in compact stars in context, and to summarize the current thinking about the detectability of gravitational waves from various scenarios. As a new generation of kilometre length interferometric detectors is now coming online this is a highly topical theme. The review is motivated by two key questions for future gravitational-wave astronomy: are the gravitational waves from various instabilities detectable? If so, what can these gravitational-wave signals teach us about neutron star physics? Even though we may not have clear answers to these questions, recent studies of the dynamical bar-mode instability and the secular r-mode instability have provided new insights into many of the difficult issues involved in modelling unstable stars as gravitational-wave sources.

Gravitational waves from instabilities in relativistic stars

The Kirchhoff-Kida family of elliptical vortex columns in flows with uniform strain and rotation displays a rich variety of dynamical behaviours, even in a purely two-dimensional setting. In this paper, we address the stability of these columns with respect to three-dimensional perturbations via the geometrical optics method. In the case when the external strain is equal to zero, the analysis reduces to the stability of a steady elliptical vortex in a rotating frame. When the external strain is non-zero, the stability analysis reduces to the theory of a Schrodinger equation with quasi-periodic potential. We present stability results for a variety of different Kirchhoff-Kida flows. The vortex columns are typically unstable except when the interior vorticity is approximately the negative of the background vorticity, so that the flow in the inertial frame is nearly a potential flow.

Three-dimensional stability of elliptical vortex columns in external strain flows

Three-Dimensional Stability of Elliptical Vortex Columns in External Strain Flows

Perturbations of incompressible S-type Riemann ellipsoids are considered in the limit of short wavelength. This complements the classical consideration of perturbations of long wavelength. It is shown that there is very little of the parameter space in which the laminar, steady-state flow can exist in a stable state. This confirms, in a physically consistent framework, hydrodynamic-stability results previously obtained in the context of unbounded, two-dimensional flows. The configurations stable to perturbations of arbitrarily short wavelength include the rigidly rotating configurations of Maclaurin and Jacobi, as well as a narrow continuum centred on the family of irrotational ellipsoids and including the non-rotating sphere. However, most configurations departing even slightly from axial symmetry are unstable. Some of the implications of these results for the complexity of astrophysical flows are discussed.

Short-wavelength instabilities of riemann ellipsoids

Axisymmetric vortex rings with swirl in an inviscid incompressible fluid are considered and it is demonstrated how the geometrical optics method can be used for investigating their stability. The evolution of rapidly oscillating initial data is studied and it is shown that the corresponding rings are unstable if the transport equations associated with the wave which is advected by the flow have unbounded solutions. It is shown that unbounded solutions grow either exponentially or algebraically. By means of the analysis of the corresponding transport equations effective stability conditions for general vortex rings with swirl are obtained. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alexander Lifschitz

Papers

Local stability conditions in fluid dynamics

Three-dimensional stability of elliptical vortex columns in external strain flows

Three-Dimensional Stability of Elliptical Vortex Columns in External Strain Flows

Short-wavelength instabilities of riemann ellipsoids

Localized instabilities of vortex rings with swirl