Search Results (9 total)

We discuss two independent, large scale experiments performed in two wave basins of different dimensions in which the statistics of the surface wave elevation are addressed. Both facilities are equipped with a wave maker capable of generating waves with prescribed frequency and directional properties. The experimental results show that the probability of the formation of large amplitude waves strongly depends on the directional properties of the waves. Sea states characterized by long-crested and steep waves are more likely to be populated by freak waves with respect to those characterized by a large directional spreading.

The new generation of linac injectors driving free electron lasers in the self-amplified stimulated emission (SASE-FEL) regime requires high brightness electron beams to generate radiation in the wavelength range from UV to x rays. The choice of the injector working point and its matching to the linac structure are the key factors to meet this requirement. An emittance compensation scheme presently applied in several photoinjectors worldwide is known as the “Ferrario” working point. In spite of its great importance there was, so far, no direct measurement of the beam parameters, such as emittance, transverse envelope, and energy spread, in the region downstream the rf gun and the solenoid of a photoinjector to validate the effectiveness of this approach. In order to fully characterize the beam dynamics with this scheme, an innovative beam diagnostic device, the emittance meter, consisting of a movable emittance measurement system, has been designed and built. With the emittance meter, measurements of the main beam parameters in both transverse phase spaces can be performed in a wide range of positions downstream the photoinjector. These measurements help in tuning the injector to optimize the working point and provide an important benchmark for the validation of simulation codes. We report the results of these measurements in the SPARC photoinjector and, in particular, the first experimental evidence of the double minimum in the emittance oscillation, which provides the optimized matching to the SPARC linac.

In this Letter we report the first experimental observation of the double emittance minimum effect in the beam dynamics of high-brightness electron beam generation by photoinjectors; this effect, as predicted by the theory, is crucial in achieving minimum emittance in photoinjectors aiming at producing electron beams for short wavelength single-pass free electron lasers. The experiment described in this Letter was performed at the SPARC photoinjector site, during the first stage of commissioning of the SPARC project. The experiment was made possible by a newly conceived device, called an emittance meter, which allows a detailed and unprecedented study of the emittance compensation process as the beam propagates along the beam pipe.

Here we consider a simple weakly nonlinear model that describes the interaction of two-wave systems in deep water with two different directions of propagation. Under the hypothesis that both sea systems are narrow banded, we derive from the Zakharov equation two coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations. Given a single unstable plane wave, here we show that the introduction of a second plane wave, propagating in a different direction, can result in an increase of the instability growth rates and enlargement of the instability region. We discuss these results in the context of the formation of rogue waves.

We study random surface gravity wave fields and address the formation of large-amplitude waves in a laboratory environment. Experiments are performed in one of the largest wave tank facilities in the world. We present experimental evidence that the tail of the probability density function for wave height strongly depends on the Benjamin-Feir index (BFI)—i.e., the ratio between wave steepness and spectral bandwidth. While for a small BFI the probability density functions obtained experimentally are consistent with the Rayleigh distribution, for a large BFI the Rayleigh distribution clearly underestimates the probability of large events. These results confirm experimentally the fact that large-amplitude waves in random spectra may result from the modulational instability.

We study the modulational instability in surface gravity waves with random phase spectra. Starting from the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and using the Wigner-Moyal transform, we study the stability of the narrow-banded approximation of a typical wind-wave spectrum, i.e., the JONSWAP spectrum. By performing numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation we show that in the unstable regime, the nonlinear stage of the modulational instability is responsible for the formation of coherent structures. Furthermore, a Landau-type damping, due to the incoherence of the waves, whose role is to provide a stabilizing effect against the modulational instability, is both analytically and numerically discussed.

We study the long-time evolution of deep-water ocean surface waves in order to better understand the behavior of the nonlinear interaction processes that need to be accurately predicted in numerical models of wind-generated ocean surface waves. Of particular interest are those nonlinear interactions which are predicted by weak turbulence theory to result in a wave energy spectrum of the form of |k|^-2.5. We numerically implement the primitive Euler equations for surface waves and demonstrate agreement between weak turbulence theory and the numerical results.

Freak waves are very large, rare events in a random ocean wave train. Here we study their generation in a random sea state characterized by the Joint North Sea Wave Project spectrum. We assume, to cubic order in nonlinearity, that the wave dynamics are governed by the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation. We show from extensive numerical simulations of the NLS equation how freak waves in a random sea state are more likely to occur for large values of the Phillips parameter α and the enhancement coefficient γ. Comparison with linear simulations is also reported.

Shallow water waves are studied using a nonlinear wave equation (W2) derived from Euler's equations by Whitham's method: W2 is the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation plus higher-order correction terms. By projecting numerical simulations of W2 onto the soliton and radiation modes of the inverse scattering transform for the KdV equation we (i) generalize the soliton concept to higher order, (ii) provide a rigorous interpretation of a new soliton resonance effect, (iii) demonstrate that solitons and radiation undergo inelastic collisions, and (iv) find evidence for soliton creation and destruction.