Thermodynamics and statistical equilibrium of
large-scale hydroelastic wave turbulence

Marlone Vernet and Eric Falcon

Université Paris Cité, MSC Laboratory, UMR 7057 CNRS, F-75 013 Paris, France



Reference: Physical Review Letters 135, 024004 (2025)        Physics

URL: https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/dmrl-gxhw
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dmrl-gxhw

Abstract:
Understanding how statistical equilibrium can occur in out-of-equilibrium systems is of paramount interest, as it would enable the use of statistical mechanics tools to these systems. Here, we report the first experimental evidence of statistical equilibrium of the large scales of hydroelastic turbulent waves driven by small-scale random forcing. The wave field statistics at scales larger than the forcing scale, resolved in space and time, align well with the predictions of Rayleigh-Jeans equilibrium spectra over more than a decade. We measure zero net energy flux in this regime, as expected. We also determine the effective temperature, entropy, and heat capacity of this nonequilibrium system, demonstrating that classical thermodynamic concepts apply to describe large scales in statistical equilibrium of turbulent systems.

Disciplines: Fluid Dynamics
Research Areas: Waves and free surface flows, Hydrodynamic waves, Elastic waves, Classical statistical Mechanics, Weak turbulence
Physical Systems: Nonequilibrium systems, Nonlinear waves
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Turbulent hydroelastic waves propagating on a floating membrane. The solid ring has a diameter of 60 cm. (c) M. Vernet / E. Falcon EqStat 

 
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