Bidirectional energy cascade in surface capillary waves

Based on an experiment and simulations, we report that an energy cascade in surface capillary waves can be bidirectional, that is, can simultaneously flow towards large and small wavelength scales from the pumping scales. The bidirectional energy cascade provides an effective global coupling mechanism between the scales. We show that formation of the bidirectional cascade leads to creation of large-scale, large-amplitude waves on the fluid surface.