Fluctuations in fluids in thermal nonequilibrium states below the convective Rayleigh-Benard instability

Starting from the linearized fluctuating Boussinesq equations we derive an expression for the structure factor of fluids in stationary convection-free thermal nonequilibrium. states, taking into account both gravity and finite-size effects. It is demonstrated how the combined effects of gravity and...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ortiz De Zárate Leira, José María, Sengers, Jan V.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2001
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/59853
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/59853
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Boussinesq equations
light scattering
nonequilibrium fluctuations
Rayleigh-Benard convection
shadowgraph experiments
Swift-Hohenberg equation
Física (Física)
22 Física
Descripción
Sumario:Starting from the linearized fluctuating Boussinesq equations we derive an expression for the structure factor of fluids in stationary convection-free thermal nonequilibrium. states, taking into account both gravity and finite-size effects. It is demonstrated how the combined effects of gravity and finite size cause the structure factor to go through a maximum value as a function of the wave number q. The appearance of this maximum is associated with a crossover from a q^-4 dependence for larger q to a q^2 dependence for very small q. The relevance of this theoretical result for the interpretation of light scattering and shadowgraph experiments is elucidated. The relationship with studies on various aspects of the problem by other investigators is discussed. The paper thus provides a unified treatment for dealing with fluctuations in fluid layers subjected to a stationary temperature gradient regardless of the sign of the Rayleigh number R, provided that R is smaller than the critical value R_c associated with the appearance of Rayleigh-Benard convection.