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The problem of turbulence and coherent structures is of key importance in
many fields of science and engineering. It is an area which is vigorously
researched across a diverse range of disciplines such as theoretical physics,
oceanography, atmospheric science, magnetically confined plasma, nonlinear
optics, etc. Modern studies in turbulence and coherent structures are
based on a variety of theoretical concepts, numerical simulation techniques
and experimental methods, which cannot be reviewed effectively by a single
expert. The main goal of these lecture notes is to introduce state-of-theart
turbulence research in a variety of approaches (theoretical, numerical
simulations and experiments) and applications (fluids, plasmas, geophysics,
nonlinear optical media) by several experts.
This book is based on the lectures delivered at the 19th Canberra International
Physics Summer School held at the Australian National University
in Canberra (Australia) from 16-20 January 2006. The Summer School was
sponsored by the Australian Research Council's Complex Open Systems
Research Network (COSNet).
The lecturers aimed at (1) giving a smooth introduction to a subject to
readers who are not familiar with the field, while (2) reviewing the most
recent advances in the area. This collection of lectures will provide a useful
review for both postgraduate students and researchers new to the advancements
in this field, as well as specialists seeking to expand their knowledge
across different areas of turbulence research.
The material covered in this book includes introductions to the theory
of developed turbulence (G. Falkovich) and statistical and renormalization
methods (D. McComb). The role of turbulence in ocean energy balance
is addressed in a review by H. Dijkstra. A comprehensive introduction to
the complex area of the theory of turbulence in plasma (J. Krommes) is
complemented by a review of experimental methods in plasma turbulence
(M. Shats and H. Xia). An introduction to the main ideas and modern
capabilities of numerical simulation of turbulence is given by J. Jimenez. |