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Published on: December 15, 2021
Experimental observation of dark solitons on the surface of water
A Chabchoub1, O Kimmoun2, H Branger3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom and Mechanics and Ocean Engineering, Hamburg University of Technology, 21073 Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
We present the first ever observation of dark solitons on the surface of water. It takes the form of an amplitude drop of the carrier wave which does not change shape in propagation. The shape and width of the soliton depend on the water depth, carrier frequency, and the amplitude of the background wave. The experimental data taken in a water tank show an excellent agreement with the theory. These results may improve our understanding of the nonlinear dynamics of water waves at finite depths.
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