Anisotropic energy transfers in rapidly rotating turbulence

Abstract

We perform direct numerical simulations and analyze the ring-to-ring energy transfer in the three-dimensional hydrodynamic turbulence rendered anisotropic by rapid rotation. The rotation rate is taken to be so high that the Zeman scale is well beyond the Kolmogorov dissipation scale. Our main result is that, while the anisotropic transfer of energy is equatorward in the case of the decaying rotating turbulence, in the case of the forced rotating turbulence, the transfer is equatorward only for the scales larger than the forcing scale and poleward for the smaller scales. We also discuss in detail how our results are at odds with the corresponding results for the analogous magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.