Exact coherent structures in fully developed two-dimensional turbulence

Abstract

This paper reports several new classes of unstable recurrent solutions of the two-dimensional Euler equation on a square domain with periodic boundary conditions. These solutions are in many ways analogous to recurrent solutions of the Navier–Stokes equation which are often referred to as exact coherent structures. In particular, we find that recurrent solutions of the Euler equation are dynamically relevant: they faithfully reproduce large-scale flows in simulations of turbulence at very high Reynolds numbers. On the other hand, these solutions have a number of properties which distinguish them from their Navier–Stokes counterparts. First of all, recurrent solutions of the Euler equation come in infinite-dimensional continuous families. Second, solutions of different types are connected, e.g. an equilibrium can be smoothly continued to a travelling wave or a time-periodic state. Third, and most important, they are only weakly unstable and, as a result, fully developed turbulence mimics some of these solutions remarkably frequently and over unexpectedly long temporal intervals.