Physics Commons^™

Discrete Velocity Fields With Explicitly Computable Lagrangian Law, Curtis D. Bennett, Craig L. Zirbel

Mathematics Faculty Works

We introduce a class of random velocity fields on the periodic lattice and in discrete time having a certain hidden Markov structure. The generalized Lagrangian velocity (the velocity field as viewed from the location of a single moving particle) has similar hidden Markov structure, and its law is found explicitly. Its rate of convergence to equilibrium is studied in small numerical examples and in rigorous results giving absolute and relative bounds on the size of the second–largest eigenvalue modulus. The effect of molecular diffusion on the rate of convergence is also investigated; in some cases it slows convergence to equilibrium. …