Pattern formation by turbulent cascades

This paper investigates how to harness turbulent cascades to generate patterns. It proposes a fully nonlinear mechanism triggered by the non-dissipative arrest of turbulent cascades, where energy accumulates at an intermediate scale. This wavelength selection is tunable and is shown to be set by odd viscosity, a non-dissipative transport coefficient found in chiral fluids. The study uses theory and large-scale simulations to demonstrate this mechanism and discusses potential applications in various natural systems.

Xander M. de Wit, Michel Fruchart, Tali Khain, Federico Toschi, Vincenzo Vitelli