Integration of a deep fluid equation with a free surface

• Published in: Theoretical and mathematical physics Vol. 202; no. 3; pp. 285 - 294
• Main Author: Zakharov, V. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.03.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applications of Mathematics; Boundary conditions; Compressible fluids; Conformal mapping; Euler-Lagrange equation; Free surfaces; Infinity; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Potential flow; Self-similarity; Surface tension; Theoretical; Two dimensional flow; drop; singularity; integrability; bubble; conformal transformation
• ISSN: 0040-5779; 1573-9333
• DOI: 10.1134/S0040577920030010

We show that the Euler equations describing the unsteady potential flow of a two-dimensional deep fluid with a free surface in the absence of gravity and surface tension can be integrated exactly under a special choice of boundary conditions at infinity. We assume that the fluid surface at infinity is unperturbed, while the velocity increase is proportional to distance and inversely proportional to time. This means that the fluid is compressed according to a self-similar law. We consider perturbations of a self-similarly compressible fluid and show that their evolution can be accurately described analytically after a conformal map of the fluid surface to the lower half-plane and the introduction of two arbitrary functions analytic in this half-plane. If one of these functions is equal to zero, then the solution can be written explicitly. In the general case, the solution appears to be a rapidly converging series whose terms can be calculated using recurrence relations.