[SLS] Mahendra K. Verma (Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur)

“Energy Transfers in Turbulent Flows”

Most phenomena in the atmospheres of planets and stars exhibit turbulence.  A common feature in such phenomena is multiscale energy transfers.  For example, in Earth’s atmosphere, the kinetic energy at large scales is typically transferred to smaller scales. In a dynamo (magnetic field generation), kinetic energy is converted to magnetic energy.   In a coffee cup too, the large-scale flow energy is converted to the thermal energy at small scales. We developed a mathematical framework called “mode-to-mode energy transfer” to compute these transfers.  In this talk, I will describe this general framework and illustrate its application to   turbulent convection, magnetohydrodynamics, dynamo, and quantum turbulence.

Sack Lunch Seminar Series —
Informal seminar series within PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) that focuses on more specialized topics than the PAOC Colloquium. The presentations are either given by an invited speaker or by a member of PAOC and can focus on new research or discussion of a paper of particular interest.

Contact: sacklunch-committee@mit.edu