Triggering Rogue Waves in Opposing Currents

Miguel Onorato, Davide Proment, and Alessandro Toffoli
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 184502 – Published 26 October 2011

Abstract

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 U0 and the wave group velocity cg. 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 Schrödinger equation with nonconstant coefficient is applicable. In particular, nonlinear optics laboratory experiments are natural candidates for verifying experimentally our results.

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  • Received 16 May 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.184502

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Miguel Onorato and Davide Proment

  • Dipartimento di Fisica Generale, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
  • INFN, Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy

Alessandro Toffoli

  • Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, 3122 Victoria, Australia

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 18 — 28 October 2011

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