Intermittency in passive scalar advection

A Lagrangian method for the numerical simulation of the Kraichnan passive scalar model is introduced. The method is based on Monte--Carlo simulations of tracer trajectories, supplemented by a point-splitting procedure for coinciding points. Clean scaling behavior for scalar structure functions is observed. The scheme is exploited to investigate the dependence of scalar anomalies on the scaling exponent $\xi$ of the advecting velocity field. The three-dimensional fourth-order structure function is specifically considered.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

"Locally homogeneous turbulence" Is it an inconsistent framework?

In his first 1941 paper Kolmogorov assumed that the velocity has increments which are homogeneous and independent of the velocity at a suitable reference point. This assumption of local homogeneity is consistent with the nonlinear dynamics only in an asymptotic sense when the reference point is far away. The inconsistency is illustrated numerically using the Burgers equation. Kolmogorov's derivation of the four-fifths law for the third-order structure function and its anisotropic generalization are actually valid only for homogeneous turbulence, but a local version due to Duchon and Robert still holds. A Kolomogorov--Landau approach is proposed to handle the effect of fluctuations in the large-scale velocity on small-scale statistical properties; it is is only a mild extension of the 1941 theory and does not incorporate intermittency effects.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Electromagnetic Vacuum of Complex Media: Dipole Emission vs. Light Propagation, Vacuum Energy, and Local Field Factors

We offer a unified approach to several phenomena related to the electromagnetic vacuum of a complex medium made of point electric dipoles. To this aim, we apply the linear response theory to the computation of the polarization field propagator and study the spectrum of vacuum fluctuations. The physical distinction among the local density of states which enter the spectra of light propagation, total dipole emission, coherent emission, total vacuum energy and Schwinger-bulk energy is made clear. Analytical expressions for the spectrum of dipole emission and for the vacuum energy are derived. Their respective relations with the spectrum of external light and with the Schwinger-bulk energy are found. The light spectrum and the Schwinger-bulk energy are determined by the Dyson propagator. The emission spectrum and the total vacuum energy are determined by the polarization propagator. An exact relationship of proportionality between both propagators is found in terms of local field factors. A study of the nature of stimulated emission from a single dipole is carried out. Regarding coherent emission, it contains two components. A direct one which is transferred radiatively and directly from the emitter into the medium and whose spectrum is that of external light. And an indirect one which is radiated by induced dipoles. The induction is mediated by one (and only one) local field factor. Regarding the vacuum energy, we find that in addition to the Schwinger-bulk energy the vacuum energy of an effective medium contains local field contributions proportional to the resonant frequency and to the spectral line-width.Comment: Typos fixed, journal ref. adde

Lagrangian and Eulerian velocity structure functions in hydrodynamic turbulence

The Lagrangian and Eulerian transversal velocity structure functions of fully developed fluid turbulence are found basing on the Navier-Stokes equation. The structure functions are shown to obey the scaling relations inside the inertial range. The scaling exponents are calculated analytically without using dimensional considerations. The obtained values are in a very good agreement with recent numerical and experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Performance characteristics of wind profiling radars

Doppler radars used to measure winds in the troposphere and lower stratosphere for weather analysis and forecasting are lower-sensitivity versions of mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere radars widely used for research. The term wind profiler is used to denote these radars because measurements of vertical profiles of horizontal and vertical wind are their primary function. It is clear that wind profilers will be in widespread use within five years: procurement of a network of 30 wind profilers is underway. The Wave Propagation Laboratory (WPL) has operated a small research network of radar wind profilers in Colorado for about two and one-half years. The transmitted power and antenna aperture for these radars is given. Data archiving procedures have been in place for about one year, and this data base is used to evaluate the performance of the radars. One of the prime concerns of potential wind profilers users is how often and how long wind measurements are lacking at a given height. Since these outages constitute an important part of the performance of the wind profilers, they are calculated at three radar frequencies, 50-, 405-, and 915-MHz, (wavelengths of 6-, 0.74-, and 0.33-m) at monthly intervals to determine both the number of outages at each frequency and annual variations in outages

Lagrangian Refined Kolmogorov Similarity Hypothesis for Gradient Time-evolution in Turbulent Flows

We study the time evolution of velocity and pressure gradients in isotropic turbulence, by quantifying their decorrelation time scales as one follows fluid particles in the flow. The Lagrangian analysis uses data in a public database generated using direct numerical simulation of the Naiver-Stokes equations, at a Reynolds number 430. It is confirmed that when averaging over the entire domain, correlation functions decay on timescales on the order of the mean Kolmogorov turnover time scale, computed from the globally averaged rate of dissipation and viscosity. However, when performing the analysis in different subregions of the flow, turbulence intermittency leads to large spatial variability in the decay time scales. Remarkably, excellent collapse of the auto-correlation functions is recovered when using the `local Kolmogorov time-scale' defined using the locally averaged, rather than the global, dissipation-rate. This provides new evidence for the validity of Kolmogorov's Refined Similarity Hypothesis, but from a Lagrangian viewpoint that provides a natural frame to describe the dynamical time evolution of turbulence.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 figure

Polyethylene under tensile load: strain energy storage and breaking of linear and knotted alkanes probed by first-principles molecular dynamics calculations

The mechanical resistance of a polyethylene strand subject to tension and the way its properties are affected by the presence of a knot is studied using first-principles molecular dynamics calculations. The distribution of strain energy for the knotted chains has a well-defined shape that is very different from the one found in the linear case. The presence of a knot significantly weakens the chain in which it is tied. Chain rupture invariably occurs just outside the entrance to the knot, as is the case for a macroscopic rope.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, to appear on J. Chem. Phy

Passive Scalar Structures in Supersonic Turbulence

We conduct a systematic numerical study of passive scalar structures in supersonic turbulent flows. We find that the degree of intermittency in the scalar structures increases only slightly as the flow changes from transonic to highly supersonic, while the velocity structures become significantly more intermittent. This difference is due to the absence of shock-like discontinuities in the scalar field. The structure functions of the scalar field are well described by the intermittency model of She and L\'{e}v\^{e}que [Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 336 (1994)], and the most intense scalar structures are found to be sheet-like at all Mach numbers.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in PR

Vortex density fluctuations in quantum turbulence

We compute the frequency spectrum of turbulent superfluid vortex density fluctuations and obtain the same Kolmogorov scaling which has been observed in a recent experiment in Helium-4. We show that the scaling can be interpreted in terms of the spectrum of reconnecting material lines. The calculation is performed using a vortex tree algorithm which considerably speeds up the evaluation of Biot-Savart integrals.Comment: 7 Pages, 7 figure