Spontaneous mirror-symmetry breaking induces inverse energy cascade in 3D active fluids.

ABSTRACT: Classical turbulence theory assumes that energy transport in a 3D turbulent flow proceeds through a Richardson cascade whereby larger vortices successively decay into smaller ones. By contrast, an additional inverse cascade characterized by vortex growth exists in 2D fluids and gases, with profound implications for meteorological flows and fluid mixing. The possibility of a helicity-driven inverse cascade in 3D fluids had been rejected in the 1970s based on equilibrium-thermodynamic arguments. Recently, however, it was proposed that certain symmetry-breaking processes could potentially trigger a 3D inverse cascade, but no physical system exhibiting this phenomenon has been identified to date. Here, we present analytical and numerical evidence for the existence of an inverse energy cascade

SUBMITTER: Slomka J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5338532 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature