Persistence of hydrodynamic envelope solitons: detection and rogue wave occurrence

TL;DR

This paper reports the detection of persistent hydrodynamic envelope solitons in deep water wave simulations, showing their role in generating extreme rogue waves, with implications for understanding ocean wave dynamics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of long-lasting envelope solitons in realistic wave conditions and links them to rogue wave formation, a novel insight in nonlinear wave research.

Findings

Wave groups can persist over 200 periods in simulations.

Extreme waves often occur on top of stable envelope solitons.

Envelope solitons are identified as intense, stable structures in the wave field.

Abstract

The observation of a wave group persisting for more than 200 periods in the direct numerical simulation of nonlinear unidirectional irregular water waves in deep water is discussed. The simulation conditions are characterized by parameters realistic for broad-banded waves in the sea. The group is identified by the solution of the associated scattering problem for the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation as the intense envelope soliton with remarkably stable parameters. Most of extreme waves occur on top of this group, resulting in higher and longer rogue wave events.