event
Monday 13 May 2019: Shear instabilities at low Peclet number
Prof. Pascale Garaud - University of California, Santa Cruz
Harrison 170 14:30-15:30
In astrophysical fluids, i.e. within the interior of stars and planets, the Prandtl number is often asymptotically small. In this limit, it is possible have shear flows that have very small Peclet numbers but very large Reynolds numbers, and exist in a region of parameter space that is not normally available in geophysical flows. I will review what is known of stratified shear instabilities at low Peclet number, going from simple stability analyses to the outcome of direct numerical simulations. I will present a model for mixing by these instabilities, and conclude on their relevance in stellar evolution.
