The dynamics of stratified horizontal shear flows at low P\'eclet number

TL;DR

This paper investigates the behavior of stratified horizontal shear flows at low Péclet numbers, revealing stability properties and dynamical regimes through linear analysis and numerical simulations relevant to astrophysical contexts.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the stability and nonlinear dynamics of stratified shear flows at low Péclet numbers, including derived scaling laws for different regimes.

Findings

Two-dimensional modes are stable regardless of stratification.

Three-dimensional modes are always unstable under strong stratification and diffusion.

Four distinct dynamical regimes are identified depending on stratification strength.

Abstract

We consider the dynamics of a vertically stratified, horizontally-forced Kolmogorov flow. Motivated by astrophysical systems where the Prandtl number is often asymptotically small, our focus is the little-studied limit of high Reynolds number but low P\'eclet number (which is defined to be the product of the Reynolds number and the Prandtl number). Through a linear stability analysis, we demonstrate that the stability of two-dimensional modes to infinitesimal perturbations is independent of the stratification, whilst three-dimensional modes are always unstable in the limit of strong stratification and strong thermal diffusion. The subsequent nonlinear evolution and transition to turbulence is studied numerically using direct numerical simulations. For sufficiently large Reynolds numbers, four distinct dynamical regimes naturally emerge, depending upon the strength of the background stratification. By considering dominant balances in the governing equations, we derive scaling laws for each regime which explain the numerical data.