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Quantitative Experimental Observation of Weak Inertial-Wave Turbulence

Eduardo Monsalve, Maxime Brunet, Basile Gallet, and Pierre-Philippe Cortet
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 254502 – Published 14 December 2020
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Abstract

We report the quantitative experimental observation of the weak inertial-wave turbulence regime of rotating turbulence. We produce a statistically steady homogeneous turbulent flow that consists of nonlinearly interacting inertial waves, using rough top and bottom boundaries to prevent the emergence of a geostrophic flow. As the forcing amplitude increases, the temporal spectrum evolves from a discrete set of peaks to a continuous spectrum. Maps of the bicoherence of the velocity field confirm such a gradual transition between discrete wave interactions at weak forcing amplitude and the regime described by weak turbulence theory (WTT) for stronger forcing. In the former regime, the bicoherence maps display a near-zero background level, together with sharp localized peaks associated with discrete resonances. By contrast, in the latter regime, the bicoherence is a smooth function that takes values of the order of the Rossby number in line with the infinite-domain and random-phase assumptions of WTT. The spatial spectra then display a power-law behavior, both the spectral exponent and the spectral level being accurately predicted by WTT at high Reynolds number and low Rossby number.

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  • Received 8 July 2020
  • Accepted 25 October 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.254502

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid DynamicsNonlinear Dynamics

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Verifying Weak Turbulence Theory

Published 14 December 2020

A new experiment in wave turbulence achieves the long-sought goal of generating “pure” interacting waves that behave as theory predicts.

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Authors & Affiliations

Eduardo Monsalve1, Maxime Brunet1, Basile Gallet2, and Pierre-Philippe Cortet1,*

  • 1Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, FAST, 91405 Orsay, France
  • 2Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Service de Physique de l’État Condensé, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

  • *ppcortet@fast.u-psud.fr

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Issue

Vol. 125, Iss. 25 — 18 December 2020

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