Nonlinear conditions for instability of the free surface of a conducting liquid in an external electric field in a confined axisymmetric geometry

The behavior of the free surface of a perfectly conducting liquid in an external uniform electric field is considered in the framework of the Hamiltonian formalism for the case of bounded axisymmetric geometry of the system (the fluid is bounded by a cylindrical rigid wall). Taking into account the influence of quadratic nonlinearities, we derive an amplitude equation which describes the evolution of the boundary. Using this equation, we find the condition for the hard excitation of boundary instability that leads to an explosive growth of surface perturbations. The differences in the description of the dynamics of axisymmetric perturbations of the boundary from the cases of plane, square, and hexagonal symmetries of the problem are discussed.