Rogue Wave Observation in a Water Wave Tank

TLDR

Rogue waves are defined as crest‑to‑trough heights exceeding roughly twice the significant wave height, and the Peregrine solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation is the most likely candidate for such events, being localized in space and time, but no experiments have specifically targeted breather states in this deep‑water limit. This study aims to present the first experimental observations of the Peregrine soliton in a water wave tank. The experiment models deep‑water waves using the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, focusing on the Peregrine solution as the expected rogue‑wave candidate. The results confirm the observation of the Peregrine soliton, demonstrating that the predicted breather state can be realized experimentally.

Abstract

The conventional definition of rogue waves in the ocean is that their heights, from crest to trough, are more than about twice the significant wave height, which is the average wave height of the largest one-third of nearby waves. When modeling deep water waves using the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the most likely candidate satisfying this criterion is the so-called Peregrine solution. It is localized in both space and time, thus describing a unique wave event. Until now, experiments specifically designed for observation of breather states in the evolution of deep water waves have never been made in this double limit. In the present work, we present the first experimental results with observations of the Peregrine soliton in a water wave tank.