On Loops and Balls

Abstract

The turbulence problem at the level of scaling exponents is hard in part because of the multifractal scaling of small scales. However, a huge simplification in the problem results if one considers velocity circulation around Eulerian loops as the property of interest. We first show that circulation properties depend essentially on the area of the loop, not its shape; the relevant contour area is the scalar area, not the vector area; and what matters is the minimal area of the loop.

Bio

K.R. Sreenivasan is a University Professor at New York University and holds appointments in the Department of Physics of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Physics, and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the Tandon School of Engineering, where he is also the Eugene Kleiner Professor of Innovation. Before joining NYU, he held appointments at Yale University (22 years), University of Maryland (one year), the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. His area of research is fluid mechanics, especially turbulence. In addition, he has held a number of leadership positions in academia.