Thursday,22February2018|17:00–18:00,SeminarRoom,3rdfloor

Monstersofthedeep:RogueWaves

Prof.TheodorosHorikis DepartmentofMathematics,UniversityofIoannina,Greece

40YearAnniversaryColloquiumSeries

ABSTRACT Itiscommonformid-oceanstormwavestoreachsevenmetersinheight,andin extreme conditions such waves can reach heights of fifteen meters.However, forcenturiesmaritime folklore toldof theexistenceof vastlymoremassivewaves thatcouldappearwithoutwarning inmid-ocean,against theprevailing current and wave direction, and often in perfectly clear weather.These waves are called rogue waves. A rogue wave is a highly localizedphenomenonbothinspaceandduration,mostfrequentlyoccurringfaroutatsea. Historically oceanographers have discounted these reports as tall tales,i.e.theembellishedstoriesofmarinerswithtoomuchtimeatsea.But inthelast years scientists have discovered strong evidence indicating that suchmassive rogue waves do exist and while the phenomenon has become thesubject of recent scientific study, their origin still remains a mystery of thedeep.Thegeneratingmechanismsofthesewavesinwater(aswellasinothercontextssuchasnonlinearoptics)willbethefocusofthistalk.