Chaotic mixing as a renormalization-group fixed point

Journal Article · Mon Apr 30 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Physical Review Letters; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.2137· OSTI ID:7096975

Glimm, J ^[1]; Sharp, D H ^[2]

---

1. Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3600 (USA)
2. Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (USA)

A renormalization-group fixed point is found, corresponding to chaotic mixing in the Rayleigh-Taylor instability problem. The outer envelope of the mixing region, adjacent to the heavy fluid, is dominated by a merger of unstable modes ( bubbles of light fluid) and dynamically changing length scales. A statistical model is introduced as an approximation to the full two-fluid Euler equation to describe the mixing envelope. Molecular-chaos and continuous-time approximations to this model define an approximate renormalization-group equation, which is shown to have a nontrivial fixed point.

• DOE Contract Number: FG02-88ER25053
• OSTI ID: 7096975
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters; (USA), Journal Name: Physical Review Letters; (USA) Vol. 64:18; ISSN PRLTA; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640410* -- Fluid Physics-- General Fluid Dynamics
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BUBBLES
INSTABILITY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MIXING
MOLECULES
RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR INSTABILITY
STATISTICAL MODELS
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES