Vortices as Brownian particles in turbulent flows

Area of Science:

• Fluid dynamics
• Statistical physics
• Complex systems

Background:

• Brownian motion is fundamental to collective behavior in physical and biological systems.
• Understanding particle movement in turbulent flows is crucial for various scientific disciplines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the motion of vortices in rotating turbulent convective flow.
• To compare vortex dynamics to inertial Brownian particle behavior.
• To explore the presence of memory effects in vortex motion.

Main Methods:

• Experimental observation of vortices in rotating turbulent convective flow.
• Numerical simulations to model vortex dynamics.
• Analysis of vortex trajectories and statistical properties.

Main Results:

• Vortex movement parallels inertial Brownian particles, showing ballistic then diffusive behavior.
• The transition from ballistic to diffusive motion is direct, lacking a hydrodynamic memory regime.
• Vortex transitional timescale and diffusivity collapse onto a master curve across parameters.
• Vortices display organized structures, suggesting tethered random motion.

Conclusions:

• Convective vortices exhibit inertia-induced memory, enabling short-term movement prediction.
• Vortex dynamics can be effectively described within the framework of Brownian motion.
• The study bridges fluid dynamics with statistical mechanics through vortex behavior analysis.