Abstract:In this paper, we determine the transversal instability of periodic traveling wave solutions of the generalized Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation in two space dimensions. Using an adaptation of the arguments in [11] in the periodic context, it is possible to prove that all positive and one-dimensional L´periodic waves are spectrally (transversally) unstable. In addition, when periodic sign-changing waves exist, we also obtain the same property when the associated projection operator defined in the zero mean Sobolev … Show more
We derive the Whitham modulation equations for the Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation via a multiple scales expansion and averaging two conservation laws over one oscillation period of its periodic traveling wave solutions. We then use the Whitham modulation equations to study the transverse stability of the periodic traveling wave solutions. We find that all periodic solutions traveling along the first spatial coordinate are linearly unstable with respect to purely transversal perturbations, and we obtain an explicit expression for the growth rate of perturbations in the long wave limit. We validate these predictions by linearizing the equation around its periodic solutions and solving the resulting eigenvalue problem numerically. We also calculate the growth rate of the solitary waves analytically. The predictions of Whitham modulation theory are in excellent agreement with both of these approaches. Finally, we generalize the stability analysis to periodic waves traveling in arbitrary directions and to perturbations that are not purely transversal, and we determine the resulting domains of stability and instability.
We derive the Whitham modulation equations for the Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation via a multiple scales expansion and averaging two conservation laws over one oscillation period of its periodic traveling wave solutions. We then use the Whitham modulation equations to study the transverse stability of the periodic traveling wave solutions. We find that all periodic solutions traveling along the first spatial coordinate are linearly unstable with respect to purely transversal perturbations, and we obtain an explicit expression for the growth rate of perturbations in the long wave limit. We validate these predictions by linearizing the equation around its periodic solutions and solving the resulting eigenvalue problem numerically. We also calculate the growth rate of the solitary waves analytically. The predictions of Whitham modulation theory are in excellent agreement with both of these approaches. Finally, we generalize the stability analysis to periodic waves traveling in arbitrary directions and to perturbations that are not purely transversal, and we determine the resulting domains of stability and instability.
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