How (non-)linear is the hydrodynamics of heavy ion collisions?

We provide evidence from full numerical solutions that the hydrodynamical evolution of initial density fluctuations in heavy ion collisions can be understood order-by-order in a perturbative series in deviations from a smooth and azimuthally symmetric background solution. To leading linear order, modes with different azimuthal wave numbers do not mix. When quadratic and higher order corrections are numerically sizable, they can be understood as overtones with corresponding wave numbers in a perturbative series. Several findings reported in the recent literature result naturally from the general perturbative series formulated here.