Temperature fluctuations in the Ultimate Regime of Convection

TL;DR

This study investigates the temperature fluctuations in turbulent convection at very high Rayleigh numbers, providing new evidence for the transition to the Ultimate Regime through improved measurement techniques.

Contribution

It demonstrates that smaller probes reveal the transition to the Ultimate Regime by capturing accurate temperature fluctuation statistics, challenging previous measurement-based conclusions.

Findings

Transition to the Ultimate Regime shows a distinct change in temperature fluctuation statistics.

Previous measurements were affected by probe size, leading to potential inaccuracies.

Smaller probes confirm the existence of the regime transition.

Abstract

A new regime of turbulent convection has been reported nearly one decade ago, based on global heat transfer measurements at very high Rayleigh numbers. We examine the signature of this "Ultimate Regime" from within the flow itself. A systematic study of probe-size corrections shows that the earlier temperature measurements within the flow were altered by an excessive size of thermometer, but not according to a theoretical model proposed in the literature. Using a probe one order of magnitude smaller than the one used previously, we find evidence that the transition to the Ultimate Regime is indeed accompanied with a clear change in the statistics of temperature fluctuations in the flow.