TURBULENCE SPECTRA

The scaling invariance of the Navier-Stokes equations in the limit of infinite Reynolds number is used to derive laws for the inertial range of the turbulence spectrum. Whether the flow is homogeneous or not, the spectrum is chosen to be that given by a well-chosen biorthogonal decomposition. If the flow is homogeneous, this spectrum coincides with the classical Fourier (energy) spectrum which exhibits Kolmogorov's k-5/3 power law if the scaling exponent is assumed to be 1/3. In the more general case where the homogeneity assumption is relaxed, the spectrum is discrete and decays exponentially fast under the assumption that the flow is invariant (in a deterministic or statistical sense) under only one subgroup of the scaling coefficient lambda of one scaling group of the equations (corresponding to one value of the scaling exponent). If the flow is invariant under two subgroups of scaling coefficients lambda and lambda', the spectrum becomes maximal, equal to R+. Finally, when a full symmetry, namely an invariance under a whole group, is assumed and the spectrum becomes continuous, the decaying law for the spectral density is derived and found to be independent of the specific value of h. These ideas are then applied to locally self-similar flows with multiple dilation centers (localized in space and time) and multiple scaling exponents, extending the concept of multifractals to space and time.