Steady Periodic Shear Flow is Stable in Two Space Dimensions . Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics vs Navier-Stokes-Fourier Stability Theory -- A Comment on two Arxiv Contributions

Abstract

Dufty, Lee, Lutsko, Montanero, and Santos have carried out stability analyses of steady stationary shear flows. Their approach is based on the compressible and heat conducting Navier-Stokes-Fourier model. It predicts the unstable exponential growth of long-wavelength transverse perturbations for both two- and three-dimensional fluids. We point out that the patently-stable two-dimensional periodic shear flows studied earlier by Petravic, Posch, and ourselves contradict these predicted instabilities. The stable steady-state shear flows are based on nonequilibrium molecular dynamics with simple thermostats maintaining nonequilibrium stationary states in two space dimensions. The failure of the stability analyses remains unexplained.

Fourteen pages, four figures. For discussion at the Advanced Problems in Mechanics Summer School XXXX at Saint Petersburg, Summer 2012; 1983 Evans-Morriss reference added