We present an introductory overview of several challenging problems in the statistical characterisation of turbulence. We provide examples from fluid turbulence in three and two dimensions, from the turbulent advection of passive scalars, turbulence in the one-dimensional Burgers equation, and fluid turbulence in the presence of polymer additives.
We give an overview of the progress that has been made in recent years in understanding the dynamic multiscaling of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence and related problems. We emphasise the similarity of this problem with the dynamic scaling of time-dependent correlation functions in the vicinity of a critical point in, e.g., a spin system. The universality of dynamic-multiscaling exponents in fluid turbulence is explored by detailed simulations of the GOY shell model for fluid turbulence.
A general link between geometry and intermittency in passive scalar turbulence is established. Intermittency is qualitatively traced back to events where tracer particles stay for anomalousy long times in degenerate geometries characterized by strong clustering. The quantitative counterpart is the existence of special functions of particle configurations which are statistically invariant under the flow. These are the statistical integrals of motion controlling the scalar statistics at small scales and responsible for the breaking of scale invariance associated to intermittency.
By means of high-resolution numerical simulations, we compare the statistical properties of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence to those of the Navier-Stokes equation where small-scale vortex filaments are strongly depleted, thanks to a non-linear extra viscosity acting preferentially on high vorticity regions. We show that the presence of such smart small-scale drag can strongly reduce intermittency and non-Gaussian fluctuations. Our results pave the way towards a deeper understanding on the fundamental role of degrees of freedom in turbulence as well as on the impact of (pseudo)coherent str…
The understanding of fluid turbulence has considerably progressed in recent years. The application of the methods of statistical mechanics to the description of the motion of fluid particles, i.e. to the Lagrangian dynamics, has led to a new quantitative theory of intermittency in turbulent transport. The first analytical description of anomalous scaling laws in turbulence has been obtained. The underlying physical mechanism reveals the role of statistical integrals of motion in non-equilibrium systems. For turbulent transport, the statistical conservation laws are hidden in the evolution of g…
We carry out a direct numerical simulation (DNS) study that reveals the effects of polymers on statistically steady, forced, homogeneous, isotropic fluid turbulence. We find clear manifestations of dissipation-reduction phenomena: On the addition of polymers to the turbulent fluid, we obtain a reduction in the energy dissipation rate, a significant modification of the fluid energy spectrum, especially in the deep-dissipation range, a suppression of small-scale intermittency, and a decrease in small-scale vorticity filaments. We also compare our results with recent experiments and earlier DNS s…
We reformulate the problem of hydrodynamic turbulence as a heat flow problem. We obtain thus a prediction $$ ζ_p={p\over3}-{1\over\lnκ}\lnΓ({p\over3}+1) $$ for the exponents of the structure functions ($<|Δ_rv|^p>=r^{ζ_p}$). The meaning of the adjustable parameter $κ$ is that when an eddy of size $r$ has decayed to eddies of size $r/κ$ their energies have a thermal distribution. The above formula, with $(\lnκ)^{-1}=.32\pm.01$ is compatible with experimental data. This agreement lends supports to our physically motivated picture of turbulence.
We investigate experimentally three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic turbulence at scales larger than the forcing scale. We manage to perform a scale separation between the forcing scale and the container size by injecting energy into the fluid using centimetric magnetic particles. We measure the statistics of the fluid velocity field at scales larger than the forcing scale (energy spectra, velocity distributions, and energy flux spectrum). In particular, we show that the large-scale dynamics are in statistical equilibrium and can be described with an effective temperature, although not isolated …
We present a detailed direct numerical simulation (DNS) designed to investigate the combined effects of walls and Ekman friction on turbulence in forced soap films. We concentrate on the forward-cascade regime and show how to extract the isotropic parts of velocity and vorticity structure functions and thence the ratios of multiscaling exponents. We find that velocity structure functions display simple scaling whereas their vorticity counterparts show multiscaling; and the probability distribution function of the Weiss parameter $Λ$, which distinguishes between regions with centers and saddles…
In this review article we will describe recent developments in statistical theory of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. Kraichnan and Iroshnikov first proposed a phenomenology of MHD turbulence where Alfven time-scale dominates the dynamics, and the energy spectrum E(k) is proportional to k^{-3/2}. In the last decade, many numerical simulations show that spectral index is closer to 5/3, which is Kolmogorov's index for fluid turbulence. We review recent theoretical results based on anisotropy and Renormalization Groups which support Kolmogorov's scaling for MHD turbulence. Energy transfer am…
The field theoretic renormalization group is applied to the stochastic Navier--Stokes equation that describes fully developed fluid turbulence. The complete two-loop calculation of the renormalization constant, the beta function and the fixed point is performed. The ultraviolet correction exponent, the Kolmogorov constant and the inertial-range skewness factor are derived to second order of the $ε$ expansion.
We show that the statistics of a turbulent passive scalar at scales larger than the pumping may exhibit multiscaling due to a weaker mechanism than the presence of statistical conservation laws. We develop a general formalism to give explicit predictions for the large scale scaling exponents in the case of the Kraichnan model and discuss their geometric origin at small and large scale.
The title of this paper echoes the title of a paragraph in the famous book by Frisch on classical turbulence. In the relevant chapter, the author discusses the role of the statistical dynamics of vortex filaments in the fascinating problem of turbulence and the possibility of a breakthrough in constructing an advanced theory. This aspect arose due to the large amount of evidence, both experimental and numerical, that the vorticity field in turbulent flows has a pronounced filamentary structure. In fact, there is unquestionably a strong relationship between the dynamics of chaotic vortex filame…
This paper analyses the turbulent energy cascade from the perspective of statistical mechanics, and relates inter-scale energy fluxes to statistical irreversibility and information-entropy production. The microscopical reversibility of the energy cascade is tested by constructing a reversible 3D turbulent system using a dynamic model for the sub-grid stresses. This system, when reversed in time, develops a sustained inverse cascade towards the large scales, evidencing that the characterisation of the inertial energy cascade must consider the possibility of an inverse regime. This experiment is…
A method is described for predicting statistical properties of turbulence. Collections of Fourier amplitudes are represented by nonuniformly spaced modes with enhanced coupling coefficients. The statistics of the full dynamics can be recovered from the time-averaged predictions of the reduced model. A Liouville theorem leads to inviscid equipartition solutions. Excellent agreement is obtained with two-dimensional forced-dissipative pseudospectral simulations. For the two-dimensional enstrophy cascade, logarithmic corrections to the high-order structure functions are observed.
We introduce the velocity (Vs) of stagnation points as a means to characterise and measure statistical persistence of streamlines. Using theoretical arguments, Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Kinematic Simulations (KS) of three-dimensional isotropic turbulence for different ratios of inner to outer length scales L/eta of the self-similar range, we show that a frame exists where the average <Vs>=0, that the r.m.s. values of acceleration (a'), turbulent fluid velocity (u') and Vs are related by La'/(u'^2) ~ (Vs/u')(L/eta)^(2/3+q) and that Vs/u' ~ (L/eta)^q with q=-1/3 in Kolmogorov turbul…
We apply a formalism of nonextensive statistical mechanics to experimental wall turbulence data, for the first time to our knowledge. Wind tunnel data for velocity differences a streamwise distance $r$ apart are compared to the prediction from theory as developed by Beck. The simplest theory, in which all free parameters are removed, is found to reproduce statistics for the wall-normal velocity component remarkably well, even for $r$ well beyond the corresponding integral scale, while the corresponding description of the streamwise velocity fluctuations is reasonable at separations below the i…
The predictability problem in the inverse energy cascade of two-dimensional turbulence is addressed by means of high resolution direct numerical simulations. The analysis is done in terms of the finite size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) which is a measure of the growth rate at fixed error level. The numerical results are compared with classical closure predictions and good quantitative agreement is found. Finally, it is shown that the inertial range predictability properties are not affected by the presence of noise induced by the small, not resolved, scales.
We develop expressions for the nonlinear wave damping and frequency correction of a field of random, spatially homogeneous, acoustic waves. The implications for the nature of the equilibrium spectral energy distribution are discussed
Material elements - which are lines, surfaces, or volumes behaving as passive, non-diffusive markers - provide an inherently geometric window into the intricate dynamics of chaotic flows. Their stretching and folding dynamics has immediate implications for mixing in the oceans or the atmosphere, as well as the emergence of self-sustained dynamos in astrophysical settings. Here, we uncover robust statistical properties of an ensemble of material loops in a turbulent environment. Our approach combines high-resolution direct numerical simulations of Navier-Stokes turbulence, stochastic models, an…
The three-dimensional (3D) Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD) equations are often used to study turbulence in the solar wind. Some earlier studies have investigated the statistical properties of 3D HMHD turbulence by using simple shell models or pseudospectral direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of the 3D HMHD equations; these DNSs have been restricted to modest spatial resolutions and have covered a limited parameter range. To explore the dependence of 3D HMHD turbulence on the Reynolds number $Re$ and the ion-inertial scale $d_{i}$, we have carried out detailed pseudospectral DNSs of the 3D HM…
A paradigm based on the absolute equilibrium of Galerkin-truncated inviscid systems to aid in understanding turbulence [T.-D. Lee, "On some statistical properties of hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical fields," Q. Appl. Math. 10, 69 (1952)] is taken to study gyrokinetic plasma turbulence: A finite set of Fourier modes of the collisionless gyrokinetic equations are kept and the statistical equilibria are calculated; possible implications for plasma turbulence in various situations are discussed. For the case of two spatial and one velocity dimension, in the calculation with discretization …
In a recent paper it was proposed that for some nonlinear shell models of turbulence one can construct a linear advection model for an auxiliary field such that the scaling exponents of all the structure functions of the linear and nonlinear fields coincide. The argument depended on an assumption of continuity of the solutions as a function of a parameter. The aim of this paper is to provide a rigorous proof for the validity of the assumption. In addition we clarify here when the swap of a nonlinear model by a linear one will not work.
We give a brief overview of systems that show spiral patterns and spatiotemporally chaotic states. We concentrate on two physical systems: (1) the oxidation of CO on Pt(110) and (2) ventricular fibrillation in hearts. The equations that have been suggested as simple models for these two different systems are closely related for they are both {\it excitable media}. We present these equations and give a short summary of the phenomena they yield.}
The ergodic hypothesis outgrew from the ancient conception of motion as periodic or quasi periodic. It did cause a revision of our views of motion, particularly through Boltzmann and Poincaré: we discuss how Boltmann's conception of motion is still very modern and how it can provide ideas and methods to study the problem of nonequilibrium in mechanics and in fluids. This leads to the chaotic hypothesis, a recent interpretation of a very ambitious principle conceived by D. Ruelle: it is a possible extension of the ergodic hypothesis and it implies general parameterless relations. Together with …
The title of the paper coincides with the title of a paragraph in the famous book by U. Frisch (1995)on classical turbulence. In this paragraph the author discussed the role of statistical dynamics of vortex filaments in the theory of turbulence and put the above question. In other words, whether the main properties of turbulence (cascade, scaling laws) are the sequence of the vortex line dynamics or the latter have only marginal signature. Quantum fluids, where the vortex filaments are the real objects, give an excellent opportunity to explore the role of discrete vortices in turbulent phenom…
We study shell models that conserve the analogues of energy and enstrophy, hence designed to mimic fluid turbulence in 2D. The main result is that the observed state is well described as a formal statistical equilibrium, closely analogous to the approach to two-dimensional ideal hydrodynamics of Onsager, Hopf and Lee. In the presence of forcing and dissipation we observe a forward flux of enstrophy and a backward flux of energy. These fluxes can be understood as mean diffusive drifts from a source to two sinks in a system which is close to local equilibrium with Lagrange multipliers (``shell t…
We investigate and clarify the notion of locality as it pertains to the cascades of two-dimensional turbulence. The mathematical framework underlying our analysis is the infinite system of balance equations that govern the generalized unfused structure functions, first introduced by L'vov and Procaccia. As a point of departure we use a revised version of the system of hypotheses that was proposed by Frisch for three-dimensional turbulence. We show that both the enstrophy cascade and the inverse energy cascade are local in the sense of non-perturbative statistical locality. We also investigate …
Statistical Methods for Determining Turbulence in Supercontinuum Generation
Leibniz-Institute of Photonic Technology(莱布尼茨光子技术研究所);Institute of Applied Optics and Biophysics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena(耶拿弗里德里希·席勒大学应用光学与生物物理学研究所)
We study the GOY shell model simulating the cascade processes of turbulent flow. The model has two inviscid invariants governing the dynamical behavior. Depending on the choice of interaction coefficients, or coupling parameters, the two invariants are either both positive definite, analogous to energy and enstrophy of 2D flow, or only one is positive definite and the other not, analogous to energy and helicity of 3D flow. In the 2D like model the dynamics depend on the spectral ratio of enstrophy to energy. That ratio depends on wave-number as $k^α$. The enstrophy transfer through the inertia…
This is an introductory course on the open problems in the theory of fully developed turbulence. It discusses: 1. hydrodynamical equations, 2. existence of solutions, 3. statistical description of turbulent flows, 4. Kolmogorov scaling theory, 5. functional approach to turbulence: similarities and differences with field theory, 6. breakdown of the Kolmogorov theory in a passive scalar model, 7. inverse renormalization group.