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Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3707–3710 (1996)

Nonuniversality of the Scaling Exponents of a Passive Scalar Convected by a Random Flow

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M. Chertkov1, G. Falkovich1, and V. Lebedev1,2
1Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
2Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Moscow, Kosygina 2, 117940, Russia

Received 31 January 1996; published in the issue dated 13 May 1996

We consider a passive scalar convected by a multiscale random velocity field with short yet finite temporal correlations. Taking Kraichnan's limit of a white Gaussian velocity as a zero approximation we develop the perturbation theory with respect to a small correlation time and small non-Gaussianity of the velocity. We derive the renormalization (due to temporal correlations and non-Gaussianity) of the operator of turbulent diffusion. That allows us to calculate the respective corrections to the anomalous scaling exponents of the scalar field and show that they continuously depend on velocity correlation time and the degree of non-Gaussianity. The scalar exponents are thus nonuniversal as was predicted by Shraiman and Siggia on a phenomenological ground.

© 1996 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.3707
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.3707
PACS:
47.10.+g, 05.40.+j, 47.27.-i