M. Le Bars

Elliptical instability in terrestrial planets and moons

The presence of celestial companions means that any planet may be subject to three kinds of harmonic mechanical forcing: tides, precession/nutation, and libration. These forcings can generate flows in internal fluid layers, such as fluid cores and subsurface oceans, whose dynamics then significantly differ from solid body rotation. In particular, tides in non-synchronized bodies and libration in synchronized ones are known to be capable of exciting the so-called elliptical instability, i.e. a generic instability corresponding to the destabilization of two-dimensional flows with elliptical streamlines, leading to three-dimensional turbulence. We aim here at confirming the relevance of such an elliptical instability in terrestrial bodies by determining its growth rate, as well as its consequences on energy dissipation, on magnetic field induction, and on heat flux fluctuations on planetary scales. Previous studies and theoretical results for the elliptical instability are re-evaluated and extended to cope with an astrophysical context. In particular, generic analytical expressions of the elliptical instability growth rate are obtained using a local WKB approach, simultaneously considering for the first time (i) a local temperature gradient due to an imposed temperature contrast across the considered layer or to the presence of a volumic heat source and (ii) an imposed magnetic field along the rotation axis, coming from an external source. The theoretical results are applied to the telluric planets and moons of the solar system as well as to three Super-Earths: 55 CnC e, CoRoT-7b, and GJ 1214b. For the tide-driven elliptical instability in non-synchronized bodies, only the Early Earth core is shown to be clearly unstable. For the libration-driven elliptical instability in synchronized bodies, the core of Io is shown to be stable, contrary to previously thoughts, whereas Europa, 55 CnC e, CoRoT-7b and GJ 1214b cores can be unstable. The subsurface ocean of Europa is slightly unstable}. However, these present states do not preclude more unstable situations in the past.

Tidal instability in a rotating and differentially heated ellipsoidal shell

SUMMARY The stability of a rotating flow in a triaxial ellipsoidal shell with an imposed temperature difference between inner and outer boundaries is studied numerically. We demonstrate that (i) a stable temperature field encourages the tidal instability, (ii) the tidal instability can grow on a convective flow, which confirms its relevance to geo- and astrophysical contexts and (iii) its growth rate decreases when the intensity of convection increases. Simple scaling laws characterizing the evolution of the heat flux based on a competition between viscous and thermal boundary layers are derived analytically and verified numerically. Our results confirm that thermal and tidal effects have to be simultaneously taken into account when studying geophysical and astrophysical flows.

On the effects of an imposed magnetic field on the elliptical instability in rotating spheroids

The effects of an imposed magnetic field on the development of the elliptical instability in a rotating spheroid filled with a conducting fluid are considered. Theoretical and experimental studies of the spin-over mode, as well as a more general short-wavelength Lagrangian approach, demonstrate that the linear growth rate of the instability and the square amplitude of the induced magnetic field fall down linearly with the square of the imposed magnetic field. Application of the results to the Galilean moon Io confirms the fundamental role played by the elliptical instability at the planetary scale.

Libration driven elliptical instability

The elliptical instability is a generic instability which takes place in any rotating flow whose streamlines are elliptically deformed. Up to now, it has been widely studied in the case of a constant, non-zero differential rotation between the fluid and the elliptical distortion with applications in turbulence, aeronautics, planetology, and astrophysics. In this letter, we extend previous analytical studies and report the first numerical and experimental evidence that elliptical instability can also be driven by libration, i.e., periodic oscillations of the differential rotation between the fluid and the elliptical distortion, with a zero mean value. Our results suggest that intermittent, space-filling turbulence due to this instability can exist in the liquid cores and subsurface oceans of so-called synchronized planets and moons.

Experimental study of libration-driven zonal flows in non-axisymmetric containers

Abstract Orbital dynamics that lead to longitudinal libration of celestial bodies also result in an elliptically deformed equatorial core–mantle boundary. The non-axisymmetry of the boundary leads to a topographic coupling between the assumed rigid mantle and the underlying low viscosity fluid. The present experimental study investigates the effect of non axisymmetric boundaries on the zonal flow driven by longitudinal libration. For large enough equatorial ellipticity, we report intermittent space-filling turbulence in particular bands of resonant frequency correlated with larger amplitude zonal flow. The mechanism underlying the intermittent turbulence has yet to be unambiguously determined. Nevertheless, recent numerical simulations in triaxial and biaxial ellipsoids suggest that it may be associated with the growth and collapse of an elliptical instability ( Cebron et al., 2012 ). Outside of the band of resonance, we find that the background flow is laminar and the zonal flow becomes independent of the geometry at first order, in agreement with a non linear mechanism in the Ekman boundary layer (e.g., Calkins et al., 2010 , Sauret and Le Dizes, submitted for publication ).

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the elliptical instability in triaxial ellipsoids

The elliptical instability can take place in planetary cores and stars elliptically deformed by gravitational effects, where it generates large-scale three-dimensional flows assumed to be dynamo capable. In this work, we present the first magneto-hydrodynamic numerical simulations of such flows, using a finite-element method. We first validate our numerical approach by comparing with kinematic and dynamic dynamos benchmarks of the literature. We then systematically study the magnetic field induced by various modes of the elliptical instability from an imposed external field in a triaxial ellipsoidal geometry, relevant in a geo- and astrophysical context. Finally, in tidal induction cases, the external magnetic field is suddenly shut down and the decay rates of the magnetic field are systematically reported.

Generation and maintenance of bulk turbulence by libration-driven elliptical instability

Longitudinal libration corresponds to the periodic oscillation of a body’s rotation rate and is, along with precessional and tidal forcings, a possible source of mechanically-driven turbulence in the fluid interior of satellites and planets. In this study, we present a combination of direct numerical simulations and laboratory experiments, modeling this geophysically relevant mechanical forcing. We investigate the fluid motions inside a longitudinally librating ellipsoidal container filled with an incompressible fluid. The elliptical instability, which is a triadic resonance between two inertial modes and the oscillating base flow with elliptical streamlines, is observed both numerically and experimentally. The large-scale inertial modes eventually lead to small-scale turbulence, provided that the Ekman number is small enough. We characterize this transition to turbulence as additional triadic resonances develop while also investigating the properties of the turbulent flow that displays both intermittent and sustained regimes. These turbulent flows may play an important role in the thermal and magnetic evolution of bodies subject to mechanical forcing, which is not considered in standard models of convectively driven magnetic field generation.

Experimental study of global-scale turbulence in a librating ellipsoid

We present laboratory experimental results demonstrating that librational forcing of an ellipsoidal container of water can produce intense motions through the mechanism of a libration driven elliptical instability (LDEI). These libration studies are conducted using an ellipsoidal acrylic container filled with water. A particle image velocimetry method is used to measure the 2D velocity field in the equatorial plane over hundreds libration cycles for a fixed Ekman number, E = 2 × 10−5. In doing so, we recover the libration induced base flow and a time averaged zonal flow. Further, we show that LDEI in non-axisymmetric container geometries is capable of driving both intermittent and saturated turbulent motions in the bulk fluid. Additionally, we measure the growth rate and amplitude of the LDEI induced excited flow in a fully ellipsoidal container at more extreme parameters than previously studied [Noir et al., “Experimental study of libration-driven flows in nonaxisymmetric containers,” Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 204-205, 1 (2012); Cebron et al., Phys. Fluids 24, 061703, “Libration driven elliptical instability,” (2012)]. Excitation of bulk filling turbulence by librational forcing provides a mechanism for transferring rotational energy into turbulent fluid motion and thus can play an important role in the thermal evolution, interior dynamics, and magneto-hydrodynamics of librating bodies, as appear to be common in solar system settings [e.g., Comstock and Bills, “A solar system survey of forced librations in longitude,” J. Geophys. Res. Planets 108, 1 (2003)].

Some statistical properties of three-dimensional zonostrophic turbulence

Abstract We conduct in-depth analysis of statistical flow properties from direct numerical simulations that reproduce gas giants macroturbulence, namely large-scale zonal winds. Our numerical model has been specifically designed to simulate a recent laboratory device that reports zonal jets in the configuration of deep turbulent planetary layers. In this framework, the so-called zonostrophic regime is achieved when large topographical variations of the fluid layer combine with rapid rotation in a well developed three-dimensional (3D) turbulent flow. At steady state, strongly energetic, zonally dominated, large-scale axisymmetric structures emerge scaling with Rhines’ theoretical scale. This model differs from the shallow-layer scenario where the flow is confined to a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) fluid shell and the anisotropic -effect arises from latitudinal variation of the Coriolis force. Thus, we aim to reveal, in the specific framework of the deep-layer scenario, signatures of the zonostrophic regime and of a -topography in statistical flow properties. To do so, we run two large-scale 3D direct numerical simulations in a cylindrical geometry of a highly turbulent and rapidly rotating flow. These two simulations use similar set of parameters but with and without topographical -effect. We propose a comparative phenomenological description of the temporal and spatial statistics of the three components of the velocity field. Interestingly, we report that peculiar correlations occur between the vertical and radial flow components when a -topography is imposed and show a feature possibly due to a zonostrophic dynamics in 3D frequency spectra. These results suggest the development of new tools to remotely investigate gas giants zonal winds by extracting statistical flow properties from direct observations. Ultimately our analysis may support the relevance of the deep models in the study of prevalent features of planetary dynamics.

Mass transport induced by a jet impinging on a density interface: The role of interfacial wave breaking

We report the experimental measurements of mass transport induced by a jet impinging a density interface. Using water/salt-water laboratory experiments, we investigate the mechanism of mass entrainment by performing simultaneous velocity and density measurements. We observe that the mass transport leading to the homogenisation of the density is due to the contribution of the mean fields, whereas the turbulent mass flux acts against the entrainment mechanism. Moreover, the turbulent mass flux is almost perpendicular to the density gradient in the impinged region, in contradiction with the classical eddy turbulent diffusion model. We interpret all these features in the framework of interfacial waves breaking. We show how the waves generate a mean flow leading to an enhancement of the entrainment process, and how the turbulent mass flux is correlated to the wave breaking. Finally, we discuss the relevance of the closure schemes used in numerical models (e.g., Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations) to simulate this process. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2017