169 research outputs found
Predictability: a way to characterize Complexity
Different aspects of the predictability problem in dynamical systems are
reviewed. The deep relation among Lyapunov exponents, Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy,
Shannon entropy and algorithmic complexity is discussed. In particular, we
emphasize how a characterization of the unpredictability of a system gives a
measure of its complexity. Adopting this point of view, we review some
developments in the characterization of the predictability of systems showing
different kind of complexity: from low-dimensional systems to high-dimensional
ones with spatio-temporal chaos and to fully developed turbulence. A special
attention is devoted to finite-time and finite-resolution effects on
predictability, which can be accounted with suitable generalization of the
standard indicators. The problems involved in systems with intrinsic randomness
is discussed, with emphasis on the important problems of distinguishing chaos
from noise and of modeling the system. The characterization of irregular
behavior in systems with discrete phase space is also considered.Comment: 142 Latex pgs. 41 included eps figures, submitted to Physics Reports.
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The predictability problem in systems with an uncertainty in the evolution law
The problem of error growth due to the incomplete knowledge of the evolution
law which rules the dynamics of a given physical system is addressed. Major
interest is devoted to the analysis of error amplification in systems with many
characteristic times and scales. The importance of a proper parameterization of
fast scales in systems with many strongly interacting degrees of freedom is
highlighted and its consequences for the modelization of geophysical systems
are discussed.Comment: 20 pages RevTeX, 6 eps figures (included
Non Asymptotic Properties of Transport and Mixing
We study relative dispersion of passive scalar in non-ideal cases, i.e. in
situations in which asymptotic techniques cannot be applied; typically when the
characteristic length scale of the Eulerian velocity field is not much smaller
than the domain size. Of course, in such a situation usual asymptotic
quantities (the diffusion coefficients) do not give any relevant information
about the transport mechanisms. On the other hand, we shall show that the
Finite Size Lyapunov Exponent, originally introduced for the predictability
problem, appears to be rather powerful in approaching the non-asymptotic
transport properties. This technique is applied in a series of numerical
experiments in simple flows with chaotic behaviors, in experimental data
analysis of drifter and to study relative dispersion in fully developed
turbulence.Comment: 19 RevTeX pages + 8 figures included, submitted on Chaos special
issue on Transport and Mixin
Point-particle method to compute diffusion-limited cellular uptake
We present an efficient point-particle approach to simulate
reaction-diffusion processes of spherical absorbing particles in the
diffusion-limited regime, as simple models of cellular uptake. The exact
solution for a single absorber is used to calibrate the method, linking the
numerical parameters to the physical particle radius and uptake rate. We study
configurations of multiple absorbers of increasing complexity to examine the
performance of the method, by comparing our simulations with available exact
analytical or numerical results. We demonstrate the potentiality of the method
in resolving the complex diffusive interactions, here quantified by the
Sherwood number, measuring the uptake rate in terms of that of isolated
absorbers. We implement the method in a pseudo-spectral solver that can be
generalized to include fluid motion and fluid-particle interactions. As a test
case of the presence of a flow, we consider the uptake rate by a particle in a
linear shear flow. Overall, our method represents a powerful and flexible
computational tool that can be employed to investigate many complex situations
in biology, chemistry and related sciences.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Turbulence and coarsening in active and passive binary mixtures
Phase separation between two fluids in two-dimensions is investigated by
means of Direct Numerical Simulations of coupled Navier-Stokes and
Cahn-Hilliard equations. We study the phase ordering process in the presence of
an external stirring acting on the velocity field. For both active and passive
mixtures we find that, for a sufficiently strong stirring, coarsening is
arrested in a stationary dynamical state characterized by a continuous rupture
and formation of finite domains. Coarsening arrest is shown to be independent
of the chaotic or regular nature of the flow.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; discussion on the dependence of the arrest scale
on the shear rate has been added; figures have been modified accordingl
Elastic waves and transition to elastic turbulence in a two-dimensional viscoelastic Kolmogorov flow
We investigate the dynamics of the two-dimensional periodic Kolmogorov flow
of a viscoelastic fluid, described by the Oldroyd-B model, by means of direct
numerical simulations. Above a critical Weissenberg number the flow displays a
transition from stationary to randomly fluctuating states, via periodic ones.
The increasing complexity of the flow in both time and space at progressively
higher values of elasticity accompanies the establishment of mixing features.
The peculiar dynamical behavior observed in the simulations is found to be
related to the appearance of filamental propagating patterns, which develop
even in the limit of very small inertial non-linearities, thanks to the
feedback of elastic forces on the flow.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure
Lyapunov exponents of heavy particles in turbulence
Lyapunov exponents of heavy particles and tracers advected by homogeneous and
isotropic turbulent flows are investigated by means of direct numerical
simulations. For large values of the Stokes number, the main effect of inertia
is to reduce the chaoticity with respect to fluid tracers. Conversely, for
small inertia, a counter-intuitive increase of the first Lyapunov exponent is
observed. The flow intermittency is found to induce a Reynolds number
dependency for the statistics of the finite time Lyapunov exponents of tracers.
Such intermittency effects are found to persist at increasing inertia.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Acceleration statistics of heavy particles in turbulence
We present the results of direct numerical simulations of heavy particle
transport in homogeneous, isotropic, fully developed turbulence, up to
resolution (). Following the trajectories of up
to 120 million particles with Stokes numbers, , in the range from 0.16 to
3.5 we are able to characterize in full detail the statistics of particle
acceleration. We show that: ({\it i}) The root-mean-squared acceleration
sharply falls off from the fluid tracer value already at quite
small Stokes numbers; ({\it ii}) At a given the normalised acceleration
increases with consistently
with the trend observed for fluid tracers; ({\it iii}) The tails of the
probability density function of the normalised acceleration
decrease with . Two concurrent mechanisms lead to the above results:
preferential concentration of particles, very effective at small , and
filtering induced by the particle response time, that takes over at larger
.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figs, 2 tables. A section with new results has been
added. Revised version accepted for pubblication on Journal of Fluid
Mechanic
Drag enhancement in a dusty Kolmogorov flow
Particles suspended in a fluid exert feedback forces that can significantly
impact the flow, altering the turbulent drag and velocity fluctuations. We
study flow modulation induced by particles heavier than the carrier fluid in
the framework of an Eulerian two-way coupled model, where particles are
represented by a continuum density transported by a compressible velocity
field, exchanging momentum with the fluid phase. We implement the model in
direct numerical simulations of the turbulent Kolmogorov flow, a simplified
setting allowing for studying the momentum balance and the turbulent drag in
the absence of boundaries. We show that the amplitude of the mean flow and the
turbulence intensity are reduced by increasing particle mass loading with the
consequent enhancement of the friction coefficient. Surprisingly, turbulence
suppression is stronger for particles of smaller inertia. We understand such a
result by mapping the equations for dusty flow, in the limit of vanishing
inertia, to a Newtonian flow with an effective forcing reduced by the increase
in fluid density due to the presence of particles. We also discuss the negative
feedback produced by turbophoresis which mitigates the effects of particles,
especially with larger inertia, on the turbulent flow.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure
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