Uniqueness in linearized two-dimensional water-wave problems

Abstract

A geometrical condition sufficient for uniqueness in two-dimensional time-periodic linear water-wave problems is derived, and some examples are given. The technique can be seen as a generalization of work by John (1950), who established uniqueness for surface-piercing bodies that have the property that vertical lines down from the free surface do not intersect the body. The paper is in two parts. Part 1 provides a review of current knowledge on the topic of uniqueness, and gives a simple form of John's proof. Part 2 describes the recent progress, in which the ideas of John's proof are extended so that uniqueness can be demonstrated for surface-piercing bodies that do not satisfy John's geometrical criterion. In fact the new technique proves uniqueness for a large class of problems involving floating bodies, submerged bodies and multiple-body systems. However, the present work still does not constitute a general proof of uniqueness for all configurations.