Whitham Modulation Theory for Generalized Whitham Equations and a General Criterion for Modulational Instability

The generalized nonlinear Schro"\dinger equation with full dispersion (FDNLS) is considered in the semiclassical regime. The Whitham modulation equations are obtained for the FDNLS equation with general linear dispersion and a generalized, local nonlinearity. Assuming the existence of a four-parameter family of two-phase solutions, a multiple-scales approach yields a system of four independent, first-order, quasi-linear conservation laws of hydrodynamic type that correspond to the slow evolution of the two wavenumbers, mass, and momentum of modulated periodic traveling waves. The modulation equations are further analyzed in the dispersionless and weakly nonlinear regimes. The ill-posedness of the dispersionless equations corresponds to the classical criterion for modulational instability (MI). For modulations of linear waves, ill-posedness coincides with the generalized MI criterion, recently identified by Amiranashvili and Tobisch [New J. Phys., 21 (2019), 033029]. A new instability index is identified by the transition from real to complex characteristics for the weakly nonlinear modulation equations. This instability is associated with long wavelength modulations of nonlinear two-phase wavetrains and can exist even when the corresponding one-phase wavetrain is stable according to the generalized MI criterion. Another interpretation is that while infinitesimal perturbations of a periodic wave may not grow, small but finite amplitude perturbations may grow, hence this index identifies a nonlinear instability mechanism for one-phase waves. Classifications of instability indices for multiple FDNLS equations with higher-order dispersion, including applications to finite-depth water waves and the discrete NLS equation, are presented and compared with direct numerical simulations.