Theory and Simulation of Turbulence via Computer
Regents' Professor Emeritus of Astronomy
The University of Arizona
Stars are composed of fluid (high energy-density plasma) which is often highly turbulent.
To reliably evolve model stars from birth to death, as supernovae, neutron stars,
and black holes, requires that we understand the behavior of such a fluid far better
than we do. Fortunately modern high performance computers allow us to begin to attack
this formidable nonlinear problem (which may be even harder than climate prediction?).
Case studies of the interplay between theory, numerics, and astrophysics lore will
be presented to illustrate the current state of development.