Passive scalar fluctuations in intermittent turbulence with applications to wave propagation

Abstract

The effects of the fractal nature of intermittent fully developed turbulence on the fluctuations of passive scalars are assessed. Significant intermittency corrections to the "$\frac{2}{3}$ (-power) law" for the length-scale dependence of the structure function and other laws concerning fluctuation spectra are found. The implications of these findings on phenomena found in the context of wave propagation through turbulent media are investigated. Intermittency effect on scintillation of light sources, scattering of sound or electromagnetic waves, and fluctuations in phases and amplitudes of these waves are studied theoretically and compared to experiments.