Phase-symmetry breaking as a mechanism for subcritical transition in shell models of turbulence

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Hiruta, Yoshiki
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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_version_ 1866910074098679808
author Hiruta, Yoshiki
author_facet Hiruta, Yoshiki
contents Subcritical transition to turbulence, in which the laminar state is linearly stable yet finite-amplitude perturbations develop into turbulence, is ubiquitous but lacks a simple analytical framework. We demonstrate such a framework using a shell model of turbulence, in which external forcing breaks the phase symmetry of the governing equations. This symmetry breaking suppresses the linear instability of the laminar state, while the energy cascade and spectrum of the developed turbulent state are preserved. A complementary single-triad model admits an exact elliptic neutral stability curve, revealing that the stabilization depends only on the breaking strength and not on the nonlinear coupling coefficients. Since the phase symmetry of the shell model corresponds to Galilean invariance in the Navier--Stokes equations, this mechanism may offer a new perspective on subcritical transition in fluid systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_25106
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Phase-symmetry breaking as a mechanism for subcritical transition in shell models of turbulence
Hiruta, Yoshiki
Fluid Dynamics
Subcritical transition to turbulence, in which the laminar state is linearly stable yet finite-amplitude perturbations develop into turbulence, is ubiquitous but lacks a simple analytical framework. We demonstrate such a framework using a shell model of turbulence, in which external forcing breaks the phase symmetry of the governing equations. This symmetry breaking suppresses the linear instability of the laminar state, while the energy cascade and spectrum of the developed turbulent state are preserved. A complementary single-triad model admits an exact elliptic neutral stability curve, revealing that the stabilization depends only on the breaking strength and not on the nonlinear coupling coefficients. Since the phase symmetry of the shell model corresponds to Galilean invariance in the Navier--Stokes equations, this mechanism may offer a new perspective on subcritical transition in fluid systems.
title Phase-symmetry breaking as a mechanism for subcritical transition in shell models of turbulence
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.25106