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Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing
Published on: February 13, 2018
Thermodynamics and Statistical Equilibrium of Large-Scale Hydroelastic Wave Turbulence
1MSC, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, UMR 7057, F-75 013 Paris, France.
None:
Understanding how statistical equilibrium can occur in out-of-equilibrium systems is of paramount interest, as it would enable the use of statistical mechanics tools to these systems. Here, we report the first experimental evidence of statistical equilibrium of the large scales of hydroelastic turbulent waves driven by small-scale random forcing. The wave field statistics at scales larger than the forcing scale, resolved in space and time, align well with the predictions of Rayleigh-Jeans equilibrium spectra over more than a decade. We measure zero net energy flux in this regime, as expected. We also determine the effective temperature, entropy, and heat capacity of this nonequilibrium system, demonstrating that classical thermodynamic concepts apply to describe large scales in statistical equilibrium of turbulent systems.
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