Small-scale anisotropy in turbulent shearless mixing

The generation of small-scale anisotropy in turbulent shearless mixing is numerically investigated. Data from direct numerical simulations at Taylor Reynolds' numbers between 45 and 150 show not only that there is a significant departure of the longitudinal velocity derivative moments from the values found in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence but that the variation of skewness has an opposite sign for the components across the mixing layer and parallel to it. The anisotropy induced by the presence of a kinetic energy gradient has a very different pattern from the one generated by an homogeneous shear. The transversal derivative moments in the mixing are in fact found to be very small, which highlights that smallness of the transversal moments is not a sufficient condition for isotropy.     

Mixing of a passive scalar across a thin shearless layer: concentration of intermittency on the sides of the turbulent interface

The advection of a passive scalar through an initial flat interface separating two different isotropic decaying turbulent fields is investigated in two and three dimensions. Simulations have been performed for a range of Taylor’s microscale Reynolds numbers from 45 to 250 and for a Schmidt number equal to 1. Different to the case where the transport involves the momentum and kinetic energy only and one intermittency layer is formed in the low-turbulent energy side of the system, in the passive scalar concentration field two intermittent layers are observed to develop at the sides of the interface. The layers move normally to the interface in opposite directions. The dimensionality produces different time scaling of the passive scalar diffusion, which is much faster in the two-dimensional case. In two dimensions, the propagation of the intermittent layers exhibits a significant asymmetry with respect to the initial position of the interface and is deeper for the layer which moves towards the high kinetic energy side of the system. In three dimensions, the two intermittent layers propagate nearly symmetrically with respect the centre of the mixing region. During the temporal decay, inside the mixing, which is both inhomogeneous and anisotropic but devoid of a mean velocity shear, the passive scalar spectra are computed. In three dimensions, the exponent in the scaling range gets in time a value close to that of the kinetic energy spectrum of isotropic turbulence (?5/3). In two dimensions, instead the exponent settles down to a value that is about one-half of the corresponding isotropic case. By means of an analysis based on simple wavy perturbations of the interface we show that the formation of the double layer of intermittency is a dynamic general feature not specific to the turbulent transport. These results of our numerical study are discussed in the context of experimental results and numerical simulations.     

Statistics of particle pair relative velocity in the homogeneous shear flow

Small scale clustering of inertial particles and relative velocity of particle pairs have been fully characterized for statistically steady homogeneous isotropic flows. Depending on the particle Stokes relaxation time, the spatial distribution of the disperse phase results in a multi-scale manifold characterized by local particle concentration and voids and, because of finite inertia, the two nearby particles have high probability to exhibit large relative velocities. Both effects might explain the speed-up of particle collision rate in turbulent flows. Recently it has been shown that the large scale geometry of the flow plays a crucial role in organizing small scale particle clusters. For instance, a mean shear preferentially orients particle patterns. In this case, depending on the Stokes time, anisotropic clustering may occur even in the inertial range of scales where the turbulent fluctuations which drive the particles have already recovered isotropy. Here we consider the statistics of particle pair relative velocity in the homogeneous shear flow, the prototypical flow which manifests anisotropic clustering at small scales. We show that the mean shear, by imprinting anisotropy on the large scale velocity fluctuations, dramatically affects the particle relative velocity distribution even in the range of small scales where the anisotropic mechanisms of turbulent kinetic energy production are sub-dominant with respect to the inertial energy transfer which drives the carrier fluid velocity towards isotropy. We find that the particles’ populations which manifest strong anisotropy in their relative velocities are the same which exhibit small scale clustering. In contrast to any Kolmogorov-like picture of turbulent transport these phenomena may persist even below the smallest dissipative scales where the residual level of anisotropy may eventually blow-up. The observed anisotropy of particle relative velocity and spatial configuration is suggested to influence the directionality of the collision probability, as inferred on the basis of the so-called “ghost collision” model.     

六方小面相螺旋在各向异性、表面吸附、界面动力学作用下生长的相场

利用定量相场模型研究了强各向异性、表面吸附率以及界面动力学作用条件下六方Ga N螺旋结构的表面形貌与生长机理.通过引入小面相各向异性的相场修正方程,研究了不同各向异性的稳态螺旋形貌,发现各向异性通过改变台阶尖端的曲率作用影响螺旋生长.弱各向异性下稳态螺距及界面动力学特征相对稳定,各向异性较强时尖端的过饱和度随着各向异性的增强而增大,并使得界面平衡态向着有利于螺旋台阶推进的方向移动.研究了表面吸附率对小面相螺旋生长的作用机理,发现吸附率的增加导致了稳态螺旋间距的降低,通过分析螺旋间距随台阶宽度的变化趋势,发现增强的表面吸附和各向异性强度降低了螺旋间距的收敛性,并且具体分析了收敛性误差;通过探讨界面动力学作用条件下螺旋形貌特征以及螺旋间距变化趋势,发现界面动力学系数通过改变稳态螺旋间距与特征指数因子调控螺旋生长的动力学机理,与各向同性相比小面相螺旋生长表现出较低的界面动力学系数依赖性.     

Density Fluctuation Spectrum of Solar Wind Turbulence between Ion and Electron Scales

We present a measurement of the spectral index of density fluctuations between ion and electron scales in solar wind turbulence using the EFI instrument on the ARTEMIS spacecraft. The mean spectral index at 1?AU was found to be -2.75±0.06, steeper than predictions for pure whistler or kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence but consistent with previous magnetic field measurements. The steep spectra are also consistent with expectations of increased intermittency or damping of some of the turbulent energy over this range of scales. Neither the spectral index nor the flattening of the density spectra before ion scales were found to depend on the proximity to the pressure anisotropy instability thresholds, suggesting that they are features inherent to the turbulent cascade.     

各向同性湍流中颗粒引起湍流变动的直接模拟

本文通过直接数值模拟对均匀各向同性湍流中颗粒对湍流的变动作用进行了研究.颗粒相的体积分数很小而质量载荷足够大,以至于颗粒之间的相互作用可以忽略不计,而重点考虑颗粒与湍流间能量的交换。颗粒对湍流的反向作用使得湍动能的耗散率增强,以至于湍动能的衰减速率增大.湍动能的衰减速率随颗粒惯性的增大而增大。三维湍动能谱显示,颗粒对湍动能的影响在不同的尺度上是不均匀的。在低波数段,流体带动颗粒,而高波数段则相反.     

Generalised scale-by-scale energy-budget equations and large-eddy simulations of anisotropic scalar turbulence at various Schmidt numbers

A necessary condition for the accurate prediction of turbulent flows using large-eddy simulation (LES) is the correct representation of energy transfer between the different scales of turbulence in the LES. For scalar turbulence, transfer of energy between turbulent length scales is described by a transport equation for the second moment of the scalar increment. For homogeneous isotropic turbulence, the underlying equation is the well-known Yaglom equation. In the present work, we study the turbulent mixing of a passive scalar with an imposed mean gradient by homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Both direct numerical simulations (DNS) and LES are performed for this configuration at various Schmidt numbers, ranging from 0.11 to 5.56. As the assumptions made in the derivation of the Yaglom equation are violated for the case considered here, a generalised Yaglom equation accounting for anisotropic effects, induced by the mean gradient, is derived in this work. This equation can be interpreted as a scale-by-scale energy-budget equation, as it relates at a certain scale r terms representing the production, turbulent transport, diffusive transport and dissipation of scalar energy. The equation is evaluated for the conducted DNS, followed by a discussion of physical effects present at different scales for various Schmidt numbers. For an analysis of the energy transfer in LES, a generalised Yaglom equation for the second moment of the filtered scalar increment is derived. In this equation, new terms appear due to the interaction between resolved and unresolved scales. In an a-priori test, this filtered energy-budget equation is evaluated by means of explicitly filtered DNS data. In addition, LES calculations of the same configuration are performed, and the energy budget as well as the different terms are thereby analysed in an a-posteriori test. It is shown that LES using an eddy viscosity model is able to fulfil the generalised filtered Yaglom equation for the present configuration. Further, the dependence of the terms appearing in the filtered energy-budget equation on varying Schmidt numbers is discussed.     

高能强子–强子碰撞喷注内部动力学起伏的自仿射分析

对CERN-SppS对撞机能区的质子–反质子碰撞事件中产生的喷注(微喷注)内部的动力学起伏进行了自仿射分析.按圆锥法判定由蒙特卡洛事件产生器产生的事件样本中的喷注(微喷注).通过一维阶乘矩的研究得到自仿射的赫斯特指数.按照所得到的赫斯特指数进行三维自仿射分析,在双对数图上得到较好的直线.从而进一步证明,喷注内部的动力学起伏近似地和SPS静止靶强子–强子碰撞中的动力学起伏一样,呈现为纵–横各向异性,而在横平面内各向同性.     

Magnetic helicity tensor for an anisotropic turbulence

The evolution of the magnetic helicity tensor for a nonzero mean magnetic field and for large magnetic Reynolds numbers in an anisotropic turbulence is studied. It is shown that the isotropic and anisotropic parts of the magnetic helicity tensor have different characteristic times of evolution. The time of variation of the isotropic part of the magnetic helicity tensor is much larger than the correlation time of the turbulent velocity field. The anisotropic part of the magnetic helicity tensor changes for the correlation time of the turbulent velocity field. The mean turbulent flux of the magnetic helicity is calculated as well. It is shown that even a small anisotropy of turbulence strongly modifies the flux of the magnetic helicity. It is demonstrated that the tensor of the magnetic part of the alpha effect for weakly inhomogeneous turbulence is determined only by the isotropic part of the magnetic helicity tensor.     

Influence of polymer additives on turbulent energy cascading in forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence studied by direct numerical simulations

Direct numerical simulations(DNS) were performed for the forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence(FHIT) with/without polymer additives in order to elaborate the characteristics of the turbulent energy cascading influenced by drag-reducing effects.The finite elastic non-linear extensibility-Peterlin model(FENE-P) was used as the conformation tensor equation for the viscoelastic polymer solution.Detailed analyses of DNS data were carried out in this paper for the turbulence scaling law and the topological dynamics of FHIT as well as the important turbulent parameters,including turbulent kinetic energy spectra,enstrophy and strain,velocity structure function,small-scale intermittency,etc.A natural and straightforward definition for the drag reduction rate was also proposed for the drag-reducing FHIT based on the decrease degree of the turbulent kinetic energy.It was found that the turbulent energy cascading in the FHIT was greatly modified by the drag-reducing polymer additives.The enstrophy and the strain fields in the FHIT of the polymer solution were remarkably weakened as compared with their Newtonian counterparts.The small-scale vortices and the small-scale intermittency were all inhibited by the viscoelastic effects in the FHIT of the polymer solution.However,the scaling law in a fashion of extended self-similarity for the FHIT of the polymer solution,within the presently simulated range of Weissenberg numbers,had no distinct differences compared with that of the Newtonian fluid case.     

Reflection and refraction of elastic wave at VTI-TTI media interface

We explore the physical phenomenon of acoustic waves induced at the interface between two different anisotropic rock media.Specifically,one medium is a transversely isotropic medium with a vertical axis of symmetry(VTI medium)and the other one is a transversely isotropic medium with a tilt axis of symmetry(TTI medium).By solving the Kelvin-Christoffel equation,an eighth-order polynomial is established for reflection and refraction angles,which is confirmed from SnelFs law.Three types of analytical expressions of the polarization coefficients of the induced waves are obtained corresponding to different incident angle regions.An effective algorithm has been developed for numerical analysis of the polarization coefficients.Applying characteristic anisotropic parameters reported in the literature,the influencing factors on reflection and refraction coefficients are analyzed,e.g.,the anisotropy,the tilt-angle of rock-layer,and the incident-angle.The calculated reflection and refraction coefficients have been rechecked for energy conservation.     

Dynamics and structure of unstably stratified homogeneous turbulence

We characterise the properties of unstably stratified homogeneous turbulence by means of high-resolution direct numerical simulations and a two-point statistical spectral model based on a quasi-normal closure proposed by Burlot et al. Both approaches agree very well regarding the evolution of one- and two-point turbulent statistics, showing that the model is valid at even higher Reynolds numbers than previously considered. From a parametric study with different initial conditions, we confirm that the energy distribution at large scale influences strongly the late time dynamics of the flow. In particular, we assess the existence of backscatter transfer of energy, and evaluate its role in the growth rate of several turbulent quantities. Moreover, thanks to the statistical model, we analyse the scale-by-scale anisotropy of the flow through the decomposition of turbulent spectra in terms of directional anisotropy and polarisation anisotropy, for a refined characterisation of the structure of the flow which is strongly anisotropic in the large scales. This also allows us to study how isotropy is restored in the inertial scales.     

Anisotropic Bianchi-I universe with phantom field and cosmological constant

We study an anisotropic Bianchi-I universe in the presence of a phantom field and a cosmological constant. Cosmological solutions are obtained when the kinetic energy of the phantom field is of the order of anisotropy and dominates over the potential energy of the field. The anisotropy of the universe decreases and the universe transits to an isotropic flat FRW universe accommodating the present acceleration. A class of new cosmological solutions is obtained for an anisotropic universe in case an initial anisotropy exists which is bigger than the value determined by the parameter of the kinetic part of the field. Later, an autonomous system of equations for an axially symmetric Bianchi-I universe with phantom field in an exponential potential is studied. We discuss the stability of the cosmological solutions.      

黏性各向异性磁流体Kelvin-Helmholtz不稳定性:二维数值研究

利用corner transport upwind和constrained transport算法求解非理想磁流体动力学方程组,对匀强平行磁场作用下,黏性各向异性等离子体自由剪切层中的Kelvin-Helmholtz不稳定性进行了数值模拟.从流动结构、涡结构演化、磁场分布、横向磁压力、抗弯磁张力等角度对各向同性和各向异性黏性算例结果进行了讨论,分析了黏性各向异性对Kelvin-Helmholtz不稳定性的影响.结果表明,黏性各向异性比黏性各向同性更利于流动的稳定.其稳定性作用是由于磁感线方向上剪切速率降低导致界面卷起程度和圈数的降低,并使卷起结构中小涡产生增殖、合并,破坏了涡的常规增长,从而导致流动的稳定.黏性各向异性对横向磁压力的影响比对抗弯磁张力更大.     

Nonperturbative renormalization group approach to turbulence

We suggest a new, renormalization group (RG) based, nonperturbative method for treating the intermittency problem of fully developed turbulence which also includes the effects of a finite boundary of the turbulent flow. The key idea is not to try to construct an elimination procedure based on some assumed statistical distribution, but to make an ansatz for possible RG transformations and to pose constraints upon those, which guarantee the invariance of the nonlinear term in the Navier-Stokes equation, the invariance of the energy dissipation, and other basic properties of the velocity field. The role of length scales is taken to be inverse to that in the theory of critical phenomena; thus possible intermittency corrections are connected with the outer length scale. Depending on the specific type of flow, we find different sets of admissible transformations with distinct scaling behaviour: for the often considered infinite, isotropic, and homogeneous system K41 scaling is enforced, but for the more realistic plane Couette geometry no restrictions on intermittency exponents were obtained so far. Received: 28 December 1997 / Accepted: 6 August 1998     

Can relic superhorizon inhomogeneities be responsible for large-scale CMB anomalies?

We investigate the effects of the presence of relic classical superhorizon inhomogeneities during inflation. This superhorizon inhomogeneity appears as a gradient locally and picks out a preferred direction. Quantum fluctuations on this slightly inhomogeneous background are generally statistical anisotropic. We find a quadrupole modification to the ordinary isotropic spectrum. Moreover, this deviation from statistical isotropy is scale-dependent, with a ∼−1/k² factor. This result implies that the statistical anisotropy mainly appears on large scales, while the spectrum on small scales remains highly isotropic. Moreover, due to this −1/k² factor, the power on large scales is suppressed. Thus, our model can simultaneously explain the observed anisotropic alignments of the low-? multipoles and their low power.     

Turbulent transport of material particles: an experimental study of finite size effects

We present experimental Lagrangian statistics of finite sized, neutrally bouyant, particles transported in an isotropic turbulent flow. The particle's diameter is varied over turbulent inertial scales. Finite size effects are shown not to be trivially related to velocity intermittency. The global shape of the particle's acceleration probability density functions is not found to depend significantly on its size while the particle's acceleration variance decreases as it becomes larger in quantitative agreement with the classical k(-7/3) scaling for the spectrum of Eulerian pressure fluctuations in the carrier flow.     

Anisotropy of near-field speckle patterns

In the vicinity of a rough interface under normal illumination the speckle field has been found to be anisotropic; that is, its correlation length is much larger in the direction of polarization than in the perpendicular direction, forming stripe-shaped speckle patterns in the near-field region. Furthermore, with increasing distance from the interface, the anisotropy of the near-field speckles decays rapidly, while the speckle size increases drastically in all directions. Based on detailed analysis, it was found that the anisotropy of the near-field speckle patterns can be attributed to polarization-dependent coupling among the evanescent waves from different surface diffusers.     

On nonlinear cascades and resonances in the outer magnetosphere

The paper addresses nonlinear phenomena that control the interaction between plasma flow (solar wind) and magnetic barrier (magnetosphere). For the first time we demonstrate that the dominant solar wind kinetic energy: (i) excites boundary resonances and their harmonics which modulate plasma jets under the bow shock; (ii) produces discrete three-wave cascades, which could merge into a turbulent-like one; (iii) jet produced cascades provide the effective anomalous plasma transport inside and out of the magnetosphere; (iv) intermittency and multifractality characteristics for the statistic properties of jets result in a super-ballistic turbulent transport regime. Our results could be considered as suggestive for the space weather predictions, for turbulent cascades in different media and for the laboratory plasma confinement (e.g., for fusion devices).