Stochastic Stokes' drift
Classical Physics
2009-10-31 v1
Abstract
Classical Stokes' drift is the small time-averaged drift velocity of suspended non-diffusing particles in a fluid due to the presence of a wave. We consider the effect of adding diffusion to the motion of the particles, and show in particular that a non-zero time-averaged drift velocity exists in general even when the classical Stokes' drift is zero. Our results are obtained from a general procedure for calculating ensemble-averaged Lagrangian mean velocities for motion that is close to Brownian, and are verified by numerical simulations in the case of sinusoidal forcing.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/9808042,
title = {Stochastic Stokes' drift},
author = {Kalvis M. Jansons and G. D. Lythe},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/9808042},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
11 pages, 3 postscript figures included. Physcal Review Letters, in press