Vertical Energy Spectra Research Articles

Clear Air Turbulence Observed Across a Tropopause Fold Over the Drake Passage—A Case Study

AbstractAn aircraft turbulence encounter over the Drake Passage is investigated by combining unique high‐frequency flight level data, vertical profiles of a near‐simultaneous radiosonde profile and numerical results from global and regional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Meteorological analysis reveals an intense polar low propagating from the Bellinghausen Sea toward the Drake Passage. A small and deep stratospheric intrusion formed a tropopause fold that promoted strong upper‐level frontogenesis and enhanced shear and horizontal deformation of the upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric (UTLS) airflow. In this region, the Basic HALO Measurement and Sensor System (BAHAMAS) aboard the HALO research aircraft flying at FL450 detected large peak‐to‐peak variations in all meteorological parameters. The computed Energy dissipation rate (EDR) values (cubic root of the eddy dissipation rate) indicate moderate to severe turbulence. The location of this turbulence encounter was well‐predicted by the clear air turbulence (CAT) indices derived from the NWP results. The enhanced CAT indices emphasize the large shear and horizontal deformation of the airflow as the cause of the turbulence. Horizontal and vertical energy spectra calculated from the 10 Hz BAHAMAS data show a well‐defined energy cascade toward small scales with Kolmogorov scaling. Maximum EDR values of about 0.35 derived both from the spectra and structure functions for the wind speed agree quantitatively very well. In addition, the structure functions support the detection of turbulent atmospheric conditions with signatures of flow anisotropy generated by enhanced thermal stratification in the UTLS. The scales involved are between the buoyancy length scale LB ≈ 1,500 m and the Ozmidov scale LO ≈ 111 m.

DMRG on Top of Plane-Wave Kohn-Sham Orbitals: A Case Study of Defected Boron Nitride.

In this paper, we analyze the numerical aspects of the inherent multireference density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations on top of the periodic Kohn-Sham density functional theory using the complete active space approach. The potential of the framework is illustrated by studying hexagonal boron nitride nanoflakes embedding a charged single boron vacancy point defect by revealing a vertical energy spectrum with a prominent multireference character. We investigate the consistency of the DMRG energy spectrum from the perspective of sample size, basis size, and active space selection protocol. Results obtained from standard quantum chemical atom-centered basis calculations and plane-wave based counterparts show excellent agreement. Furthermore, we also discuss the spectrum of the periodic sheet which is in good agreement with extrapolated data of finite clusters. These results pave the way toward applying the DMRG method in extended correlated solid-state systems, such as point defect qubit in wide band gap semiconductors.

Dynamics of stratified turbulence decaying from a high buoyancy Reynolds number

We present direct numerical simulations (DNS) of unforced stratified turbulence with the objective of testing the strongly stratified turbulence theory. According to this theory the characteristic vertical scale of the turbulence is given by $\ell _{v}\sim u_{h}/N$, where $u_{h}$ is the horizontal velocity scale and $N$ the Brunt–Väisälä frequency. Combined with the hypothesis of the energy dissipation rate scaling as ${\it\epsilon}\sim u_{h}^{3}/\ell _{h}$, this theory predicts inertial range scalings for the horizontal spectrum of horizontal kinetic energy and of potential energy, according to $E(k_{h})\propto k_{h}^{-5/3}$. We begin by presenting a scaling analysis of the horizontal vorticity equation from which we recover the result regarding the vertical scale, $\ell _{v}\sim u_{h}/N$, highlighting in the process the important dynamical role of large-scale vertical shear of horizontal velocity. We then present the results from decaying DNS, which show a good agreement with aspects of the theory. In particular, the vertical Froude number is found to reach a constant plateau in time, of the form $Fr_{v}=u_{h}/(N\ell _{v})=C$ with $C=O(1)$ in all the runs. The derivation of the dissipation scaling ${\it\epsilon}\sim u_{h}^{3}/\ell _{h}$ at low Reynolds number in the context of decaying stratified turbulence highlights that the same scaling holds at high $\mathscr{R}=ReFr_{h}^{2}\gg 1$ as well as at low $\mathscr{R}\ll 1$, which is known (see Brethouwer et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 585, 2007, pp. 343–368) but not sufficiently emphasized in recent literature. We find evidence in our DNS of the dissipation scaling holding at $\mathscr{R}=O(1)$, which we interpret as being in the viscous regime. We also find ${\it\epsilon}_{k}\sim u_{h}^{3}/\ell _{h}$ and ${\it\epsilon}_{p}\sim u_{h}^{3}/\ell _{h}$ (with ${\it\epsilon}={\it\epsilon}_{k}+{\it\epsilon}_{p}$), in our high-resolution run at earlier times corresponding to $\mathscr{R}=O(10)$, which is in the transition between the strongly stratified and the viscous regimes. The horizontal spectrum of horizontal kinetic energy collapses in time using the scaling $E_{h}(k_{h})=C_{1}{\it\epsilon}_{k}^{2/3}k_{h}^{-5/3}$ and the horizontal potential energy spectrum is well described by $E_{p}(k_{h})=C_{2}{\it\epsilon}_{p}{\it\epsilon}_{k}^{-1/3}k_{h}^{-5/3}$. The presence of an inertial range in the horizontal direction is confirmed by the constancy of the energy flux spectrum over narrow ranges of $k_{h}$. However, the vertical energy spectrum is found to differ significantly from the expected $E_{h}(k_{v})\sim N^{2}k_{v}^{-3}$ scaling, showing that $Fr_{v}$ is not of order unity on a scale-by-scale basis, thus providing motivation for further investigation of the vertical structure of stratified turbulence.

The Electronic Structure of Short Carbon Nanotubes: The Effects of Correlation

This paper presents atight bindingandab initiostudy of finite zig-zag nanotubes of various diameters and lengths. The vertical energy spectra of such nanotubes are presented, as well as their spin multiplicities. The calculations performed using thetight bindingapproach show the existence of quasi-degenerate orbitals located around the Fermi level, thus suggesting the importance of high-qualityab initiomethods, capable of a correct description of the nondynamical correlation. Such approaches (Complete Active Space SCF and Multireference Perturbation Theory calculations) were used in order to get accurate ground and nearest excited-state energies, along with the corresponding spin multiplicities.

Buoyancy scale effects in large-eddy simulations of stratified turbulence

AbstractIn this paper large-eddy simulations (LES) of forced stratified turbulence using two common subgrid scale (SGS) models, the Kraichnan and Smagorinsky models, are studied. As found in previous studies using regular and hyper-viscosity, vorticity contours show elongated horizontal motions, which are layered in the vertical direction, along with intermittent Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. Increased stratification causes the layer thickness to collapse towards the dissipation scale, ultimately suppressing these instabilities. The vertical energy spectra are relatively flat out to a local maximum, which varies with the buoyancy frequency $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}N$. The horizontal energy spectra depend on the grid spacing $\varDelta $; if the resolution is fine enough, the horizontal spectrum shows an approximately $-5/3$ slope along with a bump at the buoyancy wavenumber $k_b = N/u_{rms}$, where $u_{rms}$ is the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) velocity. Our results show that there is a critical value of the grid spacing $\varDelta $, below which dynamics of stratified turbulence are well-captured in LES. This critical $\varDelta $ depends on the buoyancy scale $L_b$ and varies with different SGS models: the Kraichnan model requires $\varDelta < 0.47 L_b$, while the Smagorinsky model requires $\varDelta < 0.17 L_b$. In other words, the Smagorinsky model is significantly more costly than the Kraichnan approach, as it requires three times the resolution to adequately capture stratified turbulence.

Large eddy simulation of stably stratified turbulence

Stably stratified turbulence is a common phenomenon in atmosphere and ocean. In this paper the large eddy simulation is utilized for investigating homogeneous stably stratified turbulence numerically at Reynolds number Re = uL/v = 102∼103 and Froude number Fr = u/NL = 10−2∼100 in which u is root mean square of velocity fluctuations, L is integral scale and N is Brunt-Vaïsälä frequency. Three sets of computation cases are designed with different initial conditions, namely isotropic turbulence, Taylor Green vortex and internal waves, to investigate the statistical properties from different origins. The computed horizontal and vertical energy spectra are consistent with observation in atmosphere and ocean when the composite parameter ReFr2 is greater than O(1). It has also been found in this paper that the stratification turbulence can be developed under different initial velocity conditions and the internal wave energy is dominated in the developed stably stratified turbulence.

Large eddy simulation of stably stratified turbulence

Stable stratification turbulence, as a common phenomenon in atmospheric and oceanic flows, is an important mechanism for numerical prediction of such flows. In this paper the large eddy simulation is utilized for investigating stable stratification turbulence numerically. The paper is expected to provide correct statistical results in agreement with those measured in the atmosphere or ocean. The fully developed turbulence is obtained in the stable stratification fluid by large eddy simulation with different initial velocity field and characteristic parameters, i.e. Reynolds number Re and Froude number Fr. The evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, characteristic length scales and parameters is analyzed for investigating the development of turbulence in stable stratification fluid. The three-dimensional energy spectra, horizontal and vertical energy spectrum, are compared between numerical simulation and real observation in the atmosphere and ocean in order to test the reliability of the numerical simulation. The results of numerical cases show that the large eddy simulation is capable of predicting the properties of stable stratification turbulence in consistence with real measurements at less computational cost. It has been found in this paper that the turbulence can be developed under different initial velocity conditions and the internal wave energy is dominant in the developed stable stratification turbulence. It is also found that the characteristic parameters must satisfy certain conditions in order to have correct statistical property of stable stratification turbulence in the atmosphere and ocean. The Reynolds number and Froude number are unnecessarily equal to those in atmosphere or ocean, but the Reynolds number must be large enough, say, greater than 102, and Froude number must be less than 0.1. The most important parameter is ReFr 2 which must be greater than 10.

Scaling analysis and simulation of strongly stratified turbulent flows

Direct numerical simulations of stably and strongly stratified turbulent flows with Reynolds number Re ≫ 1 and horizontal Froude number Fh ≪ 1 are presented. The results are interpreted on the basis of a scaling analysis of the governing equations. The analysis suggests that there are two different strongly stratified regimes according to the parameter $\mathcal{R} \,{=}\, \hbox{\it Re} F^2_h$. When $\mathcal{R} \,{\gg}\, 1$, viscous forces are unimportant and lv scales as lv ∼ U/N (U is a characteristic horizontal velocity and N is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency) so that the dynamics of the flow is inherently three-dimensional but strongly anisotropic. When $\mathcal{R} \,{\ll}\, 1$, vertical viscous shearing is important so that $l_v \,{\sim}\, l_h/\hbox{\it Re}^{1/2}$ (lh is a characteristic horizontal length scale). The parameter $\cal R$ is further shown to be related to the buoyancy Reynolds number and proportional to (lO/η)4/3, where lO is the Ozmidov length scale and η the Kolmogorov length scale. This implies that there are simultaneously two distinct ranges in strongly stratified turbulence when $\mathcal{R} \,{\gg}\, 1$: the scales larger than lO are strongly influenced by the stratification while those between lO and η are weakly affected by stratification. The direct numerical simulations with forced large-scale horizontal two-dimensional motions and uniform stratification cover a wide Re and Fh range and support the main parameter controlling strongly stratified turbulence being $\cal R$. The numerical results are in good agreement with the scaling laws for the vertical length scale. Thin horizontal layers are observed independently of the value of $\cal R$ but they tend to be smooth for $\cal R$< 1, while for $\cal R$ > 1 small-scale three-dimensional turbulent disturbances are increasingly superimposed. The dissipation of kinetic energy is mostly due to vertical shearing for $\cal R$ < 1 but tends to isotropy as $\cal R$ increases above unity. When $\mathcal{R}$ < 1, the horizontal and vertical energy spectra are very steep while, when $\cal R$ > 1, the horizontal spectra of kinetic and potential energy exhibit an approximate k−5/3h-power-law range and a clear forward energy cascade is observed.

Cosmic-ray spectra as calculated from atmospheric hadron cascades

A Monte-Carlo model has been developed for the calculation of the intensities of hadrons and muons emerging from particle cascades initiated by primary cosmic rays in the atmosphere. Special attenuation is paid to the energy spectra of the particles reaching sea level. Vertical energy spectra were obtained for neutrons, protons, muons and pions at sea level in the energy range 0.1-100 GeV. The predictions show overall agreement with experimental results in all four cases. This indicates that the general features of the atmospheric hadron cascades are satisfactorily understood in the energy range 0.1-10000 GeV.