Talk 08.07.2019

Speaker:Michael Wilczek
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen


Title: Turbulence — a challenge for nonequilibrium statistical physics

Abstract:
Despite its ubiquity in nature and technology, turbulence remains a paradigmatic challenge for nonequilibrium statistical physics, withstanding most concepts that modern physics has developed so far. The rapid evolution of computational power and experimental techniques, however, has brought significant progress over the past decades by allowing unprecedented insights into the structure and dynamics of turbulence.
In this presentation, I will exemplify how a combined computational and theoretical approach can be employed to develop a statistical theory of turbulence. In particular, I will focus on tracer particles, which sample turbulence in space and time. Moving from classical to active fluids, I will also briefly discuss how turbulence research connects to other research fields such as soft matter physics.