Stationary and quasi-stationary waves in even-order dissipative systems

A new equation was recently suggested by Rudenko and Robsman [1] for describing the nonlinear wave propagation in scattering media that are characterized by weak sound signal attenuation proportional to the fourth power of frequency. General self-similar properties of the solutions to this equation were studied. It was shown that stationary solutions to this equation in the form of a shock wave exhibit unusual oscillations around the shock front, as distinct from the classical Burgers equation. Here, similar solutions are studied in detail for nonlinear waves in even-order dissipative media; namely, the solutions are compared for the media with absorption proportional to the second, fourth, and sixth powers of frequency. Based on the numerical results and the self-similar properties of the solutions, the fine structure of the shock front of stationary waves is studied for different absorption laws and magnitudes. It is shown that the amplitude and number of oscillations appearing in the stationary wave profile increase with increasing power of the frequency-dependent absorption term. For initial disturbances in the form of a harmonic wave and a pulse, quasi-stationary solutions are obtained at the stage of fully developed discontinuities and the evolution of the profile and width of the shock wave front is studied. It is shown that the smoothening of the shock front in the course of wave propagation is more pronounced when the absorption law is quadratic in frequency.