Energy-flux vector in anisotropic turbulence: application to rotating turbulence

Energy flux plays a key role in analyses of energy-cascading turbulence. In isotropic turbulence, the flux is given by a scalar as a function of the magnitude of the wavenumber. On the other hand, the flux in anisotropic turbulence should be a geometric vector that has a direction as well as a magnitude, and depends not only on the magnitude of the wavenumber but also on its direction. The energy-flux vector in anisotropic turbulence cannot be uniquely determined in a way used for the isotropic flux. In this work, introducing two ansatzes, net locality and efficiency of nonlinear energy transfer, we propose a way to determine the energy-flux vector in anisotropic turbulence using the Moore–Penrose inverse. The energy-flux vector in strongly rotating turbulence is demonstrated based on the energy transfer rate obtained by direct numerical simulations. It is found that the direction of the energy-flux vector is consistent with the prediction of the weak turbulence theory in the wavenumber range dominated by inertial waves. However, the energy flux along the critical wavenumbers predicted by the critical balance in the buffer range between the weak turbulence range and the isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence range is not observed in the present simulations. This discrepancy between the critical balance and the present numerical results is discussed and dissipation is found to play an important role in the energy flux in the buffer range.