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Title: Bounded cascade models as nonstationary multifractals

Journal Article · · Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics; (United States)
; ; ;  [1]
  1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Climate and Radiation Branch, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (United States)

We investigate a class of bounded random-cascade models which are multiplicative by construction yet additive with respect to some but not all of their properties. We assume the multiplicative weights go to unity as the cascade proceeds; then the resulting field has upper and lower bounds. Two largely complementary multifractal statistical methods of analysis are used, singular measures and structure functions yielding, respectively, the exponent hierarchies [ital D][sub [ital q]] and [ital H][sub [ital q]]. We study in more detail a specific subclass of one-dimensional models with weights 1[plus minus](1[minus]2[ital p])[ital r][sub [ital n][minus]1][sup [ital H]] at relative scale [ital r][sub [ital n]]=2[sup [minus][ital n]] after [ital n] cascade steps. The parameter [ital H][gt]0 regulates the degree of nonstationarity; at [ital H]=0, stationarity prevails and singular [ital p]-model'' cascades [Meneveau and Sreenivasan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1424 (1987)] are retrieved. Our model has at once large-scale stationarity and small scale nonstationarity with stationary increments. Due to the boundedness, the [ital D][sub [ital q]] all converge to unity with increasing [ital n]; the rate of convergence is estimated and the results are discussed in terms of residual'' multifractality (a spurious singularity spectrum due to finite-size effects). The structure-function exponents are more interesting: [ital H][sub [ital q]]=min[l brace][ital H],1/[ital q][r brace] in the limit [ital n][r arrow][infinity]. We further focus on the cases [ital q]=1, related to the fractal structure of the graph, [ital q]=2, related to the energy spectrum, and [ital q]=1/[ital H], the critical order beyond which our multiplicative (and multiscaling) bounded cascade model can be statistically distinguished from fractional Brownian motion, the corresponding additive (and monoscaling) model.

DOE Contract Number:
AI05-90ER61069
OSTI ID:
5434544
Journal Information:
Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics; (United States), Vol. 49:1; ISSN 1063-651X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English