Scattering of Capillary Waves By a Cylindrical Meniscus

Abstract

The propagation of water waves is altered when interacting with curved surfaces. Here, we consider the problem of capillary waves interacting with a 3D cylindrical meniscus. We show that when capillary waves scatter off an object surrounded by a meniscus, the resulting wavefield can be drastically altered by refraction to increase wave presence in the otherwise shadowed region behind a cylinder. This indicates that a meniscus acts as an effective coating around an object, slowing down the wave's propagation speed in its region of influence. Our results are not only an important step in surface tension dominated wave interactions, but may have implications in the biological communication of surface dwelling animals.

15 pages, 4 figures, restructured after reviewer comments received