Sustained turbulence in the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii model

We study the three-dimensional forced-dissipated Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We force at relatively low wave numbers, expecting to observe a direct energy cascade and a consequent power-law spectrum of the form k^−α. Our numerical results show that the exponent α strongly depends on how the inverse particle cascade is attenuated at ks lower than the forcing wave-number. If the inverse cascade is arrested by a friction at low ks, we observe an exponent which is in good agreement with the weak wave turbulence prediction k⁻¹. For a hypo-viscosity, a k⁻² spectrum is observed which we explain using a critical balance argument. In simulations without any low k dissipation, a condensate at k=0 is growing and the system goes through a strongly turbulent transition from a 4-wave to a 3-wave weak turbulence acoustic regime with evidence of k^−3/2 Zakharov-Sagdeev spectrum. In this regime, we also observe a spectrum for the incompressible kinetic energy which formally resembles the Kolmogorov k^−5/3, but whose correct explanation should be in terms of the Kelvin wave turbulence. The probability density functions for the velocities and the densities are also discussed.     

Extreme value theory for singular measures

In this paper, we perform an analytical and numerical study of the extreme values of specific observables of dynamical systems possessing an invariant singular measure. Such observables are expressed as functions of the distance of the orbit of initial conditions with respect to a given point of the attractor. Using the block maxima approach, we show that the extremes are distributed according to the generalised extreme value distribution, where the parameters can be written as functions of the information dimension of the attractor. The numerical analysis is performed on a few low dimensional maps. For the Cantor ternary set and the Sierpinskij triangle, which can be constructed as iterated function systems, the inferred parameters show a very good agreement with the theoretical values. For strange attractors like those corresponding to the Lozi and He?non maps, a slower convergence to the generalised extreme value distribution is observed. Nevertheless, the results are in good statistical agreement with the theoretical estimates. It is apparent that the analysis of extremes allows for capturing fundamental information of the geometrical structure of the attractor of the underlying dynamical system, the basic reason being that the chosen observables act as magnifying glass in the neighborhood of the point from which the distance is computed.     

A borel-weil-bott approach to representations of sl q (2, ℂ)

We use a quite concrete and simple realization of sl _q (2, ) involving finite difference operators. We interpret them as derivations (in the noncommutative sense) on a suitable graded algebra, which gives rise to the noncommutative scheme ¹ II ^1* as the counterpart of the standard ¹ = Sl(2, )/B.     

Stabilization by dissipation and stochastic resonant activation in quantum metastable systems

In this tutorial paper we present a comprehensive review of the escape dynamics from quantum metastable states in dissipative systems and related noise-induced effects. We analyze the role of dissipation and driving in the escape process from quantum metastable states with and without an external driving force, starting from a nonequilibrium initial condition. We use the Caldeira–Leggett model and a non-perturbative theoretical technique within the Feynman–Vernon influence functional approach in strong dissipation regime. In the absence of driving, we find that the escape time from the metastable region has a nonmonotonic behavior versus the system-bath coupling and the temperature, producing a stabilizing effect in the quantum metastable system. In the presence of an external driving, the escape time from the metastable region has a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the frequency of the driving, the thermal-bath coupling and the temperature. The quantum noise enhanced stability phenomenon is observed in both systems investigated. Finally, we analyze the resonantly activated escape from a quantum metastable state in the spin-boson model. We find quantum stochastic resonant activation, that is the presence of a minimum in the escape time as a function of the driving frequency. Background and introductory material has been added in the first three sections of the paper to make this tutorial review reasonably self-contained and readable for graduate students and non-specialists from related areas.     

Rationality in families of threefolds

We prove that in a family of projective threefolds defined over an algebraically closed field, the locus of rational fibers is a countable union of closed subsets of the locus of separably rationally connected fibers. When the ground field has characteristic zero, this implies that the locus of rational fibers in a smooth family of projective threefolds is the union of at most countably many closed subfamilies.     

Small time heat kernel asymptotics at the cut locus on surfaces of revolution

In this paper we investigate the small time heat kernel asymptotics on the cut locus on a class of surfaces of revolution, which are the simplest two-dimensional Riemannian manifolds different from the sphere with non-trivial cut-conjugate locus. We determine the degeneracy of the exponential map near a cut-conjugate point and present the consequences of this result to the small time heat kernel asymptotics at this point. These results give a first example where the minimal degeneration of the asymptotic expansion at the cut locus is attained.     

Symmetry Groups and Non-Planar Collisionless Action-Minimizing Solutions of the Three-Body Problem in Three-Dimensional Space

Periodic and quasi-periodic solutions of the n-body problem can be found as minimizers of the Lagrangian action functional restricted to suitable spaces of symmetric paths. The main purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic approach to the equivariant minimization for the three-body problem in three-dimensional space. First we give a finite complete list of symmetry groups fitting to the minimization of the action, with the property that any other symmetry group can be reduced to be isomorphic to one of these representatives. A second step is to prove that the resulting (local and global) symmetric action-minimizers are always collisionless (when they are not already bound to collisions). Furthermore, we prove some results which address the question of whether minimizers are planar or non-planar; as a consequence of our theory we will give general criteria for a symmetry group to yield planar or homographic minimizers (either homographic or not, as in the Chenciner-Montgomery eight solution). On the other hand we will provide a rigorous proof of the existence of some interesting one-parameter families of periodic and quasi-periodic non-planar orbits. These include the choreographic Marchal's P₁₂ family with equal masses – together with a less-symmetric choreographic family (which anyway probably coincides with the P₁₂ family).     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent Taylor–Couette flow

The direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the Taylor–Couette flow in the fully turbulent regime is described. The numerical method extends the work by Quadrio and Luchini [M. Quadrio, P. Luchini, Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 21 (2002) 413–427], and is based on a parallel computer code which uses mixed spatial discretization (spectral schemes in the homogeneous directions, and fourth-order, compact explicit finite-difference schemes in the radial direction). A DNS is carried out to simulate for the first time the turbulent Taylor–Couette flow in the turbulent regime. Statistical quantities are computed to complement the existing experimental information, with a view to compare it to planar, pressure-driven turbulent flow at the same value of the Reynolds number. The main source for differences in flow statistics between plane and curved-wall flows is attributed to the presence of large-scale rotating structures generated by curvature effects.     

Coherent Structures Formation During Wake-Boundary Layer Interaction on a LP Turbine Blade

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements have been analyzed in order to characterize the dynamics of coherent structures (eddies and streaks) within the suction side boundary layer of a low pressure turbine cascade perturbed by impinging wakes. To this end, the instantaneous flow fields at low Reynolds number and elevated free-stream turbulence intensity level (simulating the real condition of the blade row within the engine) were investigated in two orthogonal planes (a blade-to-blade and a wall-parallel plane). Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) has been employed to filter the instantaneous flow maps allowing a better visualization of the structures involved in the transition process of the boundary layer. For the unsteady case properly selected POD modes have been also used to sort the instantaneous PIV images in the wake passage period. This procedure allows computing phase-averaged data and visualizing structures size and intensity in the different parts of the boundary layer during the different wake passage phases. The contributions to the whole shear stress due to the largest spanwise oriented scales at the leading and trailing boundaries of the wake-jet structures and those associated with streaky structures observed in the bulk of the wake are discussed. Instantaneous images in the wall-parallel plane are filtered with POD and they allow us to further highlight the occurrence of low and high speed traveling streaks (Klebanoff mode). The periodic advection along the suction side of the high turbulent content regions carried by the wakes anticipates both formation and sinuous instability of the streaks inside the boundary layer as compared with the steady case. The dynamics driving the breakdown of the streaks and the consequent formation of nuclei with high wall-normal vorticity have been found to be almost the same in the steady and the unsteady cases. Auto-correlation of the instantaneous images are also presented in order to highlight analogies and differences in the size and spacing of streaks in the two cases. These results are also compared with the available literature concerning simplified geometries (i.e flat plate) operating under steady inflow.