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arXiv · 2004.11492

Linear and non-linear instabilities of Kirchhoff's Elliptical Vortices

Calvin Alexandre Fracassi Farias·Renato Pakter·Yan Levin
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Abstract

We investigate the stability of a uniform elliptical vortex in a two-dimensional incompressible Euler fluid. It's demonstrated that for small eccentricities, the vortex relaxes to a core-halo structure that undergoes rigid rotation with the central core remaining elliptical. For large eccentricities, the vortex splits into two quasi-circular vortices that revolve around the center of mass. Independent of the aspect ratio, the steady-state displays a low-density halo. We present a theory that qualitatively explains the transition between the two states. All theoretical results are compared with extensive molecular dynamics simulations based on the vortex-in-cell algorithm.

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Calvin Alexandre Fracassi Farias, Renato Pakter, Yan Levin. 2020-04-23. Linear and non-linear instabilities of Kirchhoff's Elliptical Vortices. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/aba68b

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