A single-wavenumber representation of nonlinear energy spectrum, i.e., stretching energy spectrum is found in elastic-wave turbulence governed by the Foppl-von Karman (FvK) equation. The representation enables energy decomposition analysis in the wav
enumber space, and analytical expressions of detailed energy budget in the nonlinear interactions are obtained for the first time in wave turbulence systems. We numerically solved the FvK equation and observed the following facts. Kinetic and bending energies are comparable with each other at large wavenumbers as the weak turbulence theory suggests. On the other hand, the stretching energy is larger than the bending energy at small wavenumbers, i.e., the nonlinearity is relatively strong. The strong correlation between a mode $a_{bm{k}}$ and its companion mode $a_{-bm{k}}$ is observed at the small wavenumbers. Energy transfer shows that the energy is input into the wave field through stretching-energy transfer at the small wavenumbers, and dissipated through the quartic part of kinetic-energy transfer at the large wavenumbers. A total-energy flux consistent with the energy conservation is calculated directly by using the analytical expression of the total-energy transfer, and the forward energy cascade is observed clearly.
A weakly nonlinear spectrum and a strongly nonlinear spectrum coexist in a statistically steady state of elastic wave turbulence. The analytical representation of the nonlinear frequency is obtained by evaluating the extended self-nonlinear interacti
ons. The {em critical/} wavenumbers at which the nonlinear frequencies are comparable with the linear frequencies agree with the {em separation/} wavenumbers between the weak and strong turbulence spectra. We also confirm the validity of our analytical representation of the separation wavenumbers through comparison with the results of direct numerical simulations by changing the material parameters of a vibrating plate.
The Random Phase and Amplitude Formalism (RPA) has significantly extended the scope of weak turbulence studies. Because RPA does not assume any proximity to the Gaussianity in the wavenumber space, it can predict, for example, how the fluctuation of
the complex amplitude of each wave mode grows through nonlinear interactions with other modes, and how it approaches the Gaussianity. Thus, RPA has a great potential capability, but its validity has been assessed neither numerically nor experimentally. We compare the theoretical predictions given by RPA with the results of direct numerical simulation (DNS) for a three-wave Hamiltonian system, thereby assess the validity of RPA. The predictions of RPA agree quite well with the results of DNS in all the aspects of statistical characteristics of mode amplitudes studied here.
Variety of statistically steady energy spectra in elastic wave turbulence have been reported in numerical simulations, experiments, and theoretical studies. Focusing on the energy levels of the system, we have performed direct numerical simulations a
ccording to the F{o}ppl--von K{a}rm{a}n equation, and successfully reproduced the variability of the energy spectra by changing the magnitude of external force systematically. When the total energies in wave fields are small, the energy spectra are close to a statistically steady solution of the kinetic equation in the weak turbulence theory. On the other hand, in large-energy wave fields, another self-similar spectrum is found. Coexistence of the weakly nonlinear spectrum in large wavenumbers and the strongly nonlinear spectrum in small wavenumbers are also found in moderate energy wave fields.
In wave turbulence, it has been believed that statistical properties are well described by the weak turbulence theory, in which nonlinear interactions among wavenumbers are assumed to be small. In the weak turbulence theory, separation of linear and
nonlinear time scales derived from the weak nonlinearity is also assumed. However, the separation of the time scales is often violated even in weak turbulent systems where the nonlinear interactions are actually weak. To get rid of this inconsistency, closed equations are derived without assuming the separation of the time scales in accordance with Direct-Interaction Approximation (DIA), which has been successfully applied to Navier--Stokes turbulence. The kinetic equation of the weak turbulence theory is recovered from the DIA equations if the weak nonlinearity is assumed as an additional assumption. It suggests that the DIA equations is a natural extension of the conventional kinetic equation to not-necessarily-weak wave turbulence.
We report evaluations of a resonant kinetic equation that suggest the slow time evolution of the Garrett and Munk spectrum is {em not}, in fact, slow. Instead nonlinear transfers lead to evolution time scales that are smaller than one wave period at
high vertical wavenumber. Such values of the transfer rates are inconsistent with conventional wisdom that regards the Garrett and Munk spectrum as an approximate stationary state and puts the self-consistency of a resonant kinetic equation at a serious risk. We explore possible reasons for and resolutions of this paradox. Inclusion of near-resonant interactions decreases the rate at which the spectrum evolves. This leads to improved self-consistency of the kinetic equation.
To investigate the formation mechanism of energy spectra of internal waves in the oceans, direct numerical simulations are performed. The simulations are based on the reduced dynamical equations of rotating stratified turbulence. In the reduced dynam
ical equations only wave modes are retained, and vortices and horizontally uniform vertical shears are excluded. Despite the simplifications, our simulations reproduce some key features of oceanic internal-wave spectra: accumulation of energy at near-inertial waves and realistic frequency and horizontal wavenumber dependencies. Furthermore, we provide evidence that formation of the energy spectra in the inertial subrange is dominated by scale-separated interactions with the near-inertial waves. These findings support oceanographers intuition that spectral energy density of internal waves is the result of predominantly wave-wave interactions.
