Bounded solutions of the nonlinear parabolic amplitude equation for plane Poiseuille flow

Abstract

The stability conditions of plane waves against three-dimensional perturbations in plane Poiseuille flow, as described by a dispersive cubically nonlinear complex-amplitude equation, under perturbations quasi-periodic in two of the space dimensions are investigated. It is found that if the parameters satisfy certain conditions, a wave is totally stable. These conditions are an extension of those given for the lower dimensional case by J. T. Stuart and R. C. DiPrima ( Proc R. Soc. Lond . A 362, 27-41 (1978)). The centre manifold theorem is then used to investigate the nature of the solutions bifurcating from a marginally unstable plane wave. Hopf bifurcations occur in the 1, 2 or 3 perturbing sidebands that are neutrally stable to the unperturbed wave and can give rise to limit cycles or tori.