On a model problem for the Orr-Sommerfeld equation with linear profile (Q1812439)

The article is devoted to the spectral problem for \[ -i\varepsilon y'' = (x-\lambda)y \] with the boundary conditions \(y(-1) = y(1) =0\), where \(\lambda\) is the spectral parameter and \(\varepsilon >0\) is a small number. The authors continue the investigation of the spectral properties of the differential equation in the limit \(\varepsilon \to 0\) which was started in the article by \textit{A. A. Shkalikov} [Math. Notes 62, No. 6, 796--799 (1997); translation from Mat. Zametki 62, No. 6, 950--953 (1997; Zbl 0937.34071)]. The problem is considered as a model for the Orr-Sommerfeld problem in hydrodynamics which can be represented in the form \[ -i\varepsilon (z'' - \alpha^2 z) = (x-\lambda) z \] with the additional conditions \[ \int_{-1}^1 z(x) \sinh \alpha(1\pm x)\,dx = 0 \] Setting \(\varepsilon = {1\over \alpha R}\), where \(\alpha\) is the wave number and \(R\) the Reynolds number, the limit \(\varepsilon \to 0\) corresponds to the limit of arbitrary high Reynolds numbers. The problem is transformed into the Airy equation \(z'' = \xi z\) with certain boundary conditions which has a \(Y\)-shaped spectrum in the lower half-plane of the complex plane. Now, the behaviour of the spectrum on the axis \((-i/\sqrt{3}, -\infty)\), in the segments \([\pm 1, -i/\sqrt{3}]\) and in a neighbourhood of the knot point \(-i/\sqrt{3}\), is described.