Stability of Diffusive Shear Layers

Abstract

As one of the cornerstones of fluid mechanics, stability analyses provide essential physical insights into the growth of perturbations and eventual transition to turbulence. However, classical \enquote{frozen-time} stability analyses implicitly assume a time-independence of their base flow and thus fail for \enquote{rapidly} diffusing shear layers. Here, we propose a self-similar ansatz to naturally incorporate the \enquote{diffusive} base-state expansion into the stability operator. Our approach reveals two competing physical mechanisms: an \enquote{expansion wind} delays the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability whereas a diminishing effective viscosity sustains this instability far beyond classical predictions. Direct numerical simulations confirm that our framework accurately captures the instability's extended lifespan, growth rate, and spectral topology, eventually revising the timeline of shear-induced mixing fundamentally.