Turbulence and Diffusion: Scaling Versus Equations (Springer Series in Synergetics)

This book is an introduction to the multidisciplinary field of anomalous diffusion in complex systems, with emphasis on the scaling approach as opposed to techniques based on the quantitative analysis of underlying transport equations. Typical examples of such systems are turbulent plasmas, convective rolls, zonal flow systems and stochastic magnetic fields. From the more methodological point of view, the approach relies on the general use of correlations estimates, quasilinear equations and continuous time random walk techniques. Yet, the mathematical descriptions are not meant to become a fixed set of recipes but rather develop and strengthen the reader's physical intuition and understanding on the underlying mechanisms involved. Most of the material stems from class-tested lectures, where graduate students where assumed to have a working knowledge of classical physics, fluid dynamics and plasma physics but otherwise no prior knowledge of the subject matter is assumed from the side of the reader.