Disconnected Stationary Solutions in 3D Kolmogorov Flow and Their Relation to Chaotic Dynamics

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This paper aims to investigate the nonlinear transition to turbulence in generalized 3D Kolmogorov flow. The difference between this and classical Kolmogorov flow is that the forcing term in the x direction sin(y) is replaced with sin(y)cos(z). This drastically complicates the problem. First, a stability analysis is performed by deriving the analog of the Orr–Sommerfeld equation. It is shown that for infinite stretching, the flow is stable, contrary to classical forcing. Next, a neutral curve is constructed, and the stability of the main solution is analyzed. It is shown that for the cubic domain, the main solution is linearly stable, at least for 0<R≤100. Next, we turn our attention to the numerical investigation of the solutions in the cubic domain. The main feature of this problem is that it is spatially periodic, allowing one to apply a relatively simple pseudo-spectral numerical method for its investigation. We apply the method of deflation to find distinct solutions in the discrete system and the method of arc length continuation to trace the bifurcation solution branches. Such solutions are called disconnected solutions if these are solutions not connected to the branch of the main solution. We investigate the influence of disconnected solutions on the dynamics of the system. It is demonstrated that when disconnected solutions are formed, the nonlinear transition to turbulence is possible, and dangerous initial conditions are these disconnected solutions.