Input-output analysis of high-speed axisymmetric isothermal jet noise

We use input-output analysis to predict and understand the aeroacoustics of high-speed isothermal turbulent jets. We consider axisymmetric linear perturbations about Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solutions of ideally expanded turbulent jets with jet Mach numbers 0.6 < Mj < 1.8. For each base flow, we compute the optimal harmonic forcing function and the corresponding linear response using singular value decomposition of the resolvent operator. In addition to the optimal mode, input-output analysis also yields sub-optimal modes associated with smaller singular values. For supersonic jets, the optimal response closely resembles a wavepacket in both the near-field and the far-field such as those obtained by the parabolized stability equations (PSE), and this mode dominates the response. For subsonic jets, however, the singular values indicate that the contributions of sub-optimal modes to noise generation are nearly equal to that of the optimal mode, explaining why the PSE do not fully capture the far-field sound in this case. Furthermore, high-fidelity large eddy simulation (LES) is used to assess the prevalence of sub-optimal modes in the unsteady data. By projecting LES source term data onto input modes and the LES acoustic far-field onto output modes, we demonstrate that sub-optimal modes of both types are physically relevant.