Building on K41 - Looking for New Inertial Ranges in
Rotating/Stratified Flows
OR Twelve Weeks in Los Alamos: Small
Town...Big Math
Mike Watson
Applied Mathematics
Kolmogorov's 1941 theory (K41) on two-point third order correlations in velocity laid the foundation for statistical turbulence studies. This theory presumes an "inertial range" of scales that is dominated by a down scale flux of kinetic energy by nonlinear transfer in fully developed turbulent flows, which has subsequently been observed many times. This discovery was followed by development of similar laws for passive scalars and helicity by Yaglom and Chkhetiani respectively. Recent theoretical work has indicated the possibility of a new inertial range for potential enstrophy in rotating/stratified turbulence. In this talk I will outline the derivation of this theory, discuss the possible implications of a new inertial regime in the historical context of K41, and show results of numerical simulations where we have looked for evidence to support this theory. I conclude with a brief discussion of the limitations of numerical simulations for this kind of investigation and how this helps to define future research.