Anomalous Diffusion by Fractal Homogenization

Scott Armstrong, Vlad Vicol

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

For every α<13, we construct an explicit divergence-free vector field b(t,x) which is periodic in space and time and belongs to Ct0Cxα∩CtαCx0 such that the corresponding scalar advection-diffusion equation (Formula presented.) exhibits anomalous dissipation of scalar variance for arbitrary H1 initial data: (Formula presented.) The vector field is deterministic and has a fractal structure, with periodic shear flows alternating in time between different directions serving as the base fractal. These shear flows are repeatedly inserted at infinitely many scales in suitable Lagrangian coordinates. Using an argument based on ideas from quantitative homogenization, the corresponding advection-diffusion equation with small κ is progressively renormalized, one scale at a time, starting from the (very small) length scale determined by the molecular diffusivity up to the macroscopic (unit) scale. At each renormalization step, the effective diffusivity is enhanced by the influence of advection on that scale. By iterating this procedure across many scales, the effective diffusivity on the macroscopic scale is shown to be of order one.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number2
JournalAnnals of PDE
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2025

Keywords

  • Anomalous diffusion
  • Iterative quantitative homogenization
  • Passive scalar

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analysis
  • Mathematical Physics
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Geometry and Topology
  • Applied Mathematics

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