Gravity Water Waves over Constant Vorticity Flows: From Laminar Flows to Touching Waves

Abstract In a recent paper, Hur and Wheeler (J Fluid Mech 896:1, 2020) proved the existence of periodic steady water waves over an infinitely deep, two-dimensional and constant vorticity flow under the influence of gravity. These solutions include overhanging wave profiles, some of which exhibit surfaces that touch at a point and thereby enclose a bubble of air. We extend these results by formulating a problem that encompasses both infinitely deep and finitely deep flows, and by proving the existence of a continuous curve of water waves that connects a laminar flow to a touching wave for fixed, nonzero gravity. This implies the existence of a wave profile featuring a vertical tangent at a point, which is not overhanging, and is referred to as a breaking wave. We also study the behavior of critical layers, which are points where the horizontal velocity vanishes, near the surface. In particular, this result holds for arbitrary vorticity.