Wave generation on an interface by vortex disturbances in a shear flow

A linear problem of oscillations of an interface in a two-layer system, in which the upper layer is at rest and the lower layer has a constant velocity shear, is considered. The dynamic perturbations in the lower layer are represented as the sum of vortex and wave disturbances (disturbances with zero vorticity). It is shown that in the shear flow the evolution of the vortex disturbances with a nonsmooth or a singular initial vorticity distribution can result in the resonant excitation of waves on the interface. The occurrence of the resonance corresponds to the coincidence of the oscillation frequencies of the perturbations of both classes. In the absence of hydrodynamic instability of the shear flow, the resonant excitation can be one of the main mechanisms of wave generation in two-layer systems.