A Viscous Velocity Potential/Stream Function

The motion of fluids presents interesting phenomena including flow separation, wakes, turbulence etc. The physics of these are enshrined in the continuity equation and the NSE. Therefore, their studies are important in mathematics and physics. They also have engineering applications. These studies can either be carried out experimentally, numerically, or theoretically. Theoretical studies using classical potential theory (CPT) have some gaps when compared to experiments. The present publication is part of a series introducing refined potential (RPT) that bridges these gaps. It leverages experimental observations, physical deductions and the match between CPT and experimentally observed flows in the theoretical development. It analytically imitates the numerical source/vortex panel method to describe how wall bounded eddies in a three-dimensional cylinder crossflow are linked to the detached wake eddies. Unlike discrete and arbitrary vortices/sources on the cylinder surface whose strengths are numerically determined in the panel method, the vortices/sources/sinks in RPT are mutually concentric and continuously distributed on the cylinder surface. Their strengths are analytically determined from CPT using physical deductions starting from Reynolds number dependence. This study results in the incompressible Kwasu function which is a Eulerian velocity potential/stream function that captures vorticity, boundary layer, shed wake vortices, three-dimensional effects, and turbulence. This Eulerian Kwasu function also theorizes streaklines. The Lagrangian form of the function is further exploited to obtain flow pathlines.

Boundary integrals for oscillating bodies in stratified fluids

The theoretical foundations of the boundary integral method are considered for inviscid monochromatic internal waves, and an analytical approach is presented for the solution of the boundary integral equation for oscillating bodies of simple shape: an elliptic cylinder in two dimensions, and a spheroid in three dimensions. The method combines the coordinate stretching introduced by Bryan and Hurley in the frequency range of evanescent waves, with analytic continuation to the range of propagating waves by Lighthill's radiation condition. Not only are the waves obtained for arbitrary oscillations of the body, with application to radial pulsations and rigid vibrations, but also the distribution of singularities equivalent to the body, allowing later inclusion of viscosity in the theory. Both a direct representation of the body as a Kirchhoff–Helmholtz integral involving single and double layers together, and an indirect representation involving a single layer alone, are considered. The indirect representation is seen to require a certain degree of symmetry of the body with respect to the horizontal and the vertical. As the surface of the body is approached the single- and double-layer potentials exhibit the same discontinuities as in classical potential theory.

Potential Fields in Fluid Mechanics: A Review of Two Classical Approaches and Related Recent Advances

The use of potential fields in fluid dynamics is retraced, ranging from classical potential theory to recent developments in this evergreen research field. The focus is centred on two major approaches and their advancements: (i) the Clebsch transformation and (ii) the classical complex variable method utilising Airy’s stress function, which can be generalised to a first integral methodology based on the introduction of a tensor potential and parallels drawn with Maxwell’s theory. Basic questions relating to the existence and gauge freedoms of the potential fields and the satisfaction of the boundary conditions required for closure are addressed; with respect to (i), the properties of self-adjointness and Galilean invariance are of particular interest. The application and use of both approaches is explored through the solution of four purposely selected problems; three of which are tractable analytically, the fourth requiring a numerical solution. In all cases, the results obtained are found to be in excellent agreement with corresponding solutions available in the open literature.

The Ellipsoidal Vortex: A Novel Approach to Geophysical Turbulence

We review the development of the ellipsoidal vortex model within the field of geophysical fluid dynamics. This vortex model is built on the classical potential theory of ellipsoids and applies to large-scale fluid flows, such as those found in the atmosphere and oceans, where the dynamics are strongly affected by the Earth's rotation. In this large-scale limit the governing equations reduce to the quasi-geostrophic system, where all the dynamics depends on a single scalar field, the potential vorticity, which is a dynamical marker for vortices. The solution of this system is achieved by the inversion of a Poisson equation, that in the case of an ellipsoidal vortex can be solved exactly. From this ellipsoidal solution equilibria have been determined and their stability properties have been studied. Many studies have shown that this ellipsoidal vortex model, while being conceptually simple, is an extremely powerful tool in eliciting some of the fundamental characteristics of turbulent geophysical flows.

INTEGER OPERATORS IN FINITE VON NEUMANN ALGEBRAS

Motivated by the study of spectral properties of self-adjoint operators in the integral group ring of a sofic group, we define and study integer operators. We establish a relation with classical potential theory and in particular the circle of results obtained by Fekete and Szegö, see [3, 4, 13]. More concretely, we use results by Rumely, see [12], on equidistribution of algebraic integers to obtain a description of those integer operator which have spectrum of logarithmic capacity less than or equal to one. Finally, we relate the study of integer operators to a recent construction by Petracovici and Zaharescu, see [10].

THE THEOREM OF JENTZSCH–SZEGŐ ON AN ANALYTIC CURVE: APPLICATION TO THE IRREDUCIBILITY OF TRUNCATIONS OF POWER SERIES

A theorem of Jentzsch–Szegő describes the limit measure of a sequence of discrete measures associated to zeroes of a sequence of polynomials in one variable. Following the presentation by Andrievskii and Blatt in [Discrepancy of Signed Measures and Polynomial Approximation, Springer Monographs in Mathematics (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2002)] we extend this theorem to compact Riemann surfaces and to analytic curves in the sense of Berkovich over ultrametric fields, using classical potential theory in the former case, and Baker/Rumely, Thuillier's potential theory on analytic curves in the latter case. We then apply this equidistribution theorem to the question of irreducibility of truncations of power series with coefficients in ultrametric fields. Résumé français: Le théorème de Jentzsch–Szegő décrit la mesure limite d'une suite de mesures discrètes associée aux zéros d'une suite convenable de polynômes en une variable. Suivant la présentation que font Andrievskii et Blatt dans [Discrepancy of Signed Measures and Polynomial Approximation, Springer Monographs in Mathematics (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2002)] on étend ici ce résultat aux surfaces de Riemann compactes, puis aux courbes analytiques sur un corps ultramétrique. On donne pour finir quelques corollaires du cas particulier de la droite projective sur un corps ultramétrique à l'irréductibilité des polynômes-sections d'une série entière en une variable.

Harmonic morphisms applied to classical potential theory

It is shown that ifϕdenotes a harmonic morphism of type Bl between suitable Brelot harmonic spacesXandY, then a functionf, defined on an open setV ⊂ Y, is superharmonic if and only iff ∘ ϕis superharmonic onϕ–1(V) ⊂ X. The “only if” part is due to Constantinescu and Cornea, withϕdenoting any harmonic morphism between two Brelot spaces. A similar result is obtained for finely superharmonic functions defined on finely open sets. These results apply, for example, to the case whereϕis the projection from ℝNto ℝn(N > n ≥1) or whereϕis the radial projection from ℝN\ {0} to the unit sphere in ℝN(N≥ 2).

Harmonic morphisms applied to classical potential theory

It is shown that if ϕ denotes a harmonic morphism of type Bl between suitable Brelot harmonic spaces X and Y, then a function f, defined on an open set V ⊂ Y, is superharmonic if and only if f ∘ ϕ is superharmonic on ϕ–1(V) ⊂ X. The “only if” part is due to Constantinescu and Cornea, with ϕ denoting any harmonic morphism between two Brelot spaces. A similar result is obtained for finely superharmonic functions defined on finely open sets. These results apply, for example, to the case where ϕ is the projection from ℝN to ℝn (N > n ≥ 1) or where ϕ is the radial projection from ℝN \ {0} to the unit sphere in ℝN (N ≥ 2).