title: Hysteresis at low Reynolds number: onset of two-dimensional vortex shedding
abstract: Hysteresis has been observed in a study of the transition between laminar flow and vortex shedding in a quasi-two-dimensional system. The system is a vertical, rapidly flowing soap film which is penetrated by a rod oriented perpendicular to the film plane. Our experiments show that the transition from laminar flow to a periodic von Karman vortex street can be hysteretic, i.e., vortices can survive at velocities lower than the velocity needed to generate them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Horvath
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cressman
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Goldburg
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Wu