Dynamics of finger formation in Laplacian growth without surface tension. (Q5949306)

The authors consider the dynamics of ``finger'' formation in Laplacian growth without surface tension in a channel geometry (Saffman-Taylor problem). First, they present a pedagogical derivation of the dynamics of the conformal map from a strip in the complex plane to the physical channel. A special attention is paid to boundary conditions. The authors consider an explicit analytic class of conformal maps that yield a basis for solutions in infinitely long channels. By considering the nature of the analyticity of these solutions, the authors show that those solutions which are free of singularities inevitably result in a single asymptotic finger whose width is provided by initial conditions. Finally, the authors show that the solution can be determined by boundary conditions for a finite body of fluid.