| Speaker: |
David Spergel (Simons Foundation; Princeton University) |
| Title: |
Understanding Compressible MHD Turbulence |
| Date (JST): |
Wed, Oct 07, 2026, 15:30 - 17:00 |
| Place: |
Lecture Hall |
| Abstract: |
The physics of turbulence is a long-standing and still open problem. Most of our understanding of turbulence is for incompressible fluids: the Kolmogorov picture, Obukov-Corrsin-Yaglom theory for tracers, Richardson diffusion and anomalous dissipation. I will begin by reviewing these concepts and then will describe our recent work showing that these ideas can be extended to both compressible fluids and magnetized fluids by reformulating the key equations on the transport landscape: a manifold defined by a metric weighted by density and conductivity. Sources and non-linear tracer physicsare incorporated into the new formalism. This new approach has applications to a wide range of physical systems including understanding the role of turbulence in combustion , fusion, and cosmic ray propagation.
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| Remarks: |
David Spergel is President of the Simons Foundation and Charles Young Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at Princeton University. A leading theoretical astrophysicist, he played a central role in the analysis of data from NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), helping to establish the standard model of cosmology and determine the universe’s age, geometry, and composition. His research spans cosmology, dark matter, exoplanets, and astronomical instrumentation, and he has helped shape the scientific program of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. His honors include the MacArthur Fellowship, Shaw Prize in Astronomy, Gruber Cosmology Prize, and Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
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