Mathematics

Scientists at University of Paris Target Physics Research

  2012 APR 17 - (VerticalNews.com) -- A new study, "Stochastic and deterministic motion of a laminar-turbulent front in a spanwisely extended Couette flow," is now available. According to the authors of recent research from Orsay, France, "We investigate numerically the dynamics of a laminar-turbulent interface in a spanwisely extended and streamwisely minimal plane Couette flow. The chosen geometry allows one to suppress the large-scale secondary flow and to focus on the nucleation of streaks near the interface."

  "It is shown that the resulting spanwise motion of the interface is essentially stochastic and can be modeled as a continuous-time random walk. This model corresponds here to a Gaussian diffusion process. The average speed of the interface and the corresponding diffusion coefficient are determined as functions of the Reynolds number Re, as well as the threshold value above which turbulence contaminates the whole domain. For the lowest values of Re, the stochastic dynamics competes with another deterministic regime of growth of the localized perturbations," wrote Y. Duguet and colleagues, University of Paris.

  The researchers concluded: "The latter is interpreted as a depinning process from the homoclinic snaking region of the system."

  Duguet and colleagues published their study in Physical Review E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Stochastic and deterministic motion of a laminar-turbulent front in a spanwisely extended Couette flow. Physical Review E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, 2011;84(6 Pt 2):066315).

  For additional information, contact Y. Duguet, LIMSI-CNRS, UPR 3251, Universite Paris-Sud, F-91403 Orsay, France.

  Keywords: City:Orsay, Country:France, Region:Europe, Mathematics, Physics Research.

  This article was prepared by VerticalNews Mathematics editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2012, VerticalNews Mathematics via VerticalNews.com.