Physics Colloquium with Predrag Cvitanovic
Event starts on this day
Mar
25
2026
Featured Speaker(s):
Predrag Cvitanovic
Event starts on this day
Mar
25
2026
Title: A field theory of turbulence
Description
Abstract: Gutzwiller semi-classical quantization, Boven-Sinai-Ruelle dynamical zeta functions for chaotic dynamical systems, statistical mechanics partition functions, and path integrals of quantum field theory are often presented in ways that make them appear as disjoint, unrelated theories. However, recent advances in describing fluid turbulence by its dynamical, deterministic Navier-Stokes underpinning, without any statistical assumptions, have led to a common field-theoretic description of both (low-dimension) chaotic dynamical systems, and (infinite-dimension) spatiotemporally turbulent flows.
In this seminar I will use a lattice discretized field theory in 1 and 1+1 dimensions to explain how temporal `chaos', `spatiotemporal chaos' and `quantum chaos' are profitably cast into the same field-theoretic framework.
For in-depth dive, see https://ChaosBook.org/overheads/spatiotemporal/
Location
PMA 4.102 (Wheeler Auditorium)