It was noted that a linear defect (elastic string), diffusing on a planar substrate traversed by a travelling wave, experienced a so-called Stokes’ drift. In the limit of an infinitely long string, such a mechanism was shown to be characterized by a sharp threshold that depended upon the wave parameters, the string damping constant and the substrate temperature. The onset of Stokes’ drift was indicated by an excess diffusion of the string’s center of mass, while dispersion of the drifting string around its center of mass could become anomalous.

Stokes Drift of Linear Defects. F.Marchesoni, M.Borromeo: Physical Review B, 2002, 65[18], 184101 (5pp)