Long-range interactions in turbulence and the energy decay problem
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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
1Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. pad3@eng.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
We discuss the long-range interactions that arise in homogeneous turbulence as a consequence of the Biot-Savart law. We note that, somewhat surprisingly, these long-range correlations are very weak in decaying, isotropic turbulence, and we argue that this should also be true for magnetohydrodynamic, rotating and stratified turbulence. If this is indeed the case, it is possible to make explicit predictions for the rate of decay of energy in these anisotropic systems, and it turns out that these predictions are consistent with the available numerical and experimental evidence.
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