Antoine Venaille


Post-doc,  Laboratoire de physique, ENS-Lyon
Address 46 allée d'Italie 69007  Lyon France
Phone 0033  - 4 72 72 86 38
E-mail  antoine.venaille ( at ) ens-lyon ( dot ) fr
 

Previously

2009-2011
Post-doc at Princeton University, GFDL-AOS
2005-2008
PhD Thesis at LEGI  (Grenoble) and INLN (Nice)
2002-2006
ENS-Lyon, Physics

Publications

A.12 G. Bordes, A. Venaille, S. Joubaud, P. Odier, T. Dauxois, 2012. Experimental observation of strong mean flows generated by internal gravity waves - in review for Physics of Fluids, 7 pages  .pdf
Shows that a monochromatic wave beam propagating in a stratified fluid induces a robust and strong jet flowing outward the wave generator.
A.11 A. Venaille,  2012. Bottom-trapped currents as statistical equilibrium states above topography anomalies. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 10 pages  .pdf
Shows that in presence of a sufficiently large topographic bump, an initial surface-intensified random velocity field evolves towards a bottom-trapped anticyclonic mean flow, which is predicted by statistical mechanics.
A.10 A. Venaille, G. K. Vallis, S.M. Griffies, 2012. The catalytic role of beta effect in barotropization processes - in review for Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 26 pages  .pdf
Shows that the presence of planetary vorticity gradients favors the tendendy to spread the energy on the vertical in stratified quasi-geostrophic turbulent flows, and that statistical mechanics arguments account for this phenomenon.
A.9 A. Venaille, G.K. Vallis, K.S. Smith, 2011. Baroclinic turbulence in the ocean: analysis with primitive equation and quasi-geostrophic simulations - Journal of Physical Oceanography, 21 pages  .pdf 
Tests the hypothesis that oceanic eddies result from local baroclinic instabilities, and examines the factors determining their distribution, length scale, magnitude and structure.
A.8. A. Venaille, J. Le Sommer, J.-M. Molines, B. Barnier, 2011. Stochastic variability of large scale oceanic flows above topography anomalies.  - Geophysical Research Letters, 6 pages  .pdf , compte rendu sur le site de l'insu
A stochastic mechanism is proposed to interpret the dynamics of eddy-driven recirculations above closed contours of bottom topography. This may account for the observed low frequency variability of the Zapiola anticyclone.
A.7 F. Bouchet, A. Venaille, 2011. Statistical mechanics of  two-dimensional and geophysical flows  - Physics Reports, 130 pages .pdf 
Review paper with emphasis on Robert-Sommeria-Miller equilibrium theory. Former statistical approaches are also discussed, as well as current developments in out of equilibrium context.
A.6 A. Venaille, F. Bouchet, 2011. Oceanic rings and jets as statistical equilibrium states  - Journal of Physical Oceanography,15 pages  .pdf  
Using statistical mechanics arguments, oceanic rings are interpreted as "bubbles" of homogenized potential vorticity. It may provide an explanation for their ubiquity, their shape, and their drift.
A.5 A. Venaille, F. Bouchet, 2011. Solvable phase diagrams and ensemble inequivalence for two-dimensional and geophysical turbulent flows - Journal of Statistical Physics, 35 pages .pdf 
Companion paper of PRL09 below. Discusses symmetry breaking associated with the generic occurrence of ensemble inequivalence, and the surprising effect of the Rossby radius of deformation (a screening length scale).
A.4 A. Venaille, F. Bouchet, 2009. Statistical Ensemble Inequivalence and Bicritical Points for Two-Dimensional Flows and Geophysical Flows - Physical Review Letters, 4 pages  .pdf
It is shown that statistical ensemble inequivalence and negative specific heat occur for a wide class of models and parameters, including Fofonoff flows, and are related to previously observed phase transitions in the flow topology. 
A.3 A. Venaille, J. Sommeria, 2008. Is mixing a self-convolution process ?  - Physical Review Letters, 4 pages  .pdf
Experimental tests of the self-convolution model for mixing of a passive tracer. It is shown that the model is doing well at sufficiently late stage of mixing. 
A.2 A. Venaille, J. Sommeria, 2007. A dynamical equation for the distribution of a scalar advected by turbulence. - Physics of Fluids, 4 pages .pdf
Provides phenomenological arguments showing that the mixing of a passive tracer through turbulent cascades may be represented as a succession of self-convolutions of the tracer distribution.
A.1 A. Venaille, P. Varona, M.I. Rabinovich, 2005.  Synchronization and coordination of sequences in two neural ensembles.- Physical Review E, 8 pages   .pdf
Synchronization properties emerging from the coupling of two chaotic systems are investigated. This illustrates how a mollusk can scan randomly an area to find a prey, while keeping some efficiency in swimming. 

Conference proceedings and book chapters

C.5 A. Venaille, F. Bouchet, 2012. Are rings and jets statistical equilibrium states ?  - Journal of Physics: Conference Series , ETC13 .pdf
Discuss 1.5 layer quasi-geostrophic turbulence in oceanic context, in the framework of Robert-Sommeria-Miller theory.
C.4 F. Bouchet, A. Venaille, 2011. Short lectures on two-dimensional and geophysical turbulence  - Peyresq lecture notes on nonlinear phenomena (to be published)
Presents Robert-Sommeria-Miller equilibrium statistical mechanics through geophysical applications.
C.3 A. Venaille., J. Sommeria, 2010.  Modeling mixing in two-dimensional turbulence and stratified fluidsIUTAM symposium on Turbulence in the Atmosphere and Oceans, Editor D. Dritschel .pdf
Presents a model for the temporal evolution of the buoyancy distribution at a given depth in a stratified fluid. The model is obtained by considering  a phenomenological maximum entropy production principle, which allows to get equations that satisfy basic physical properties (conservation laws).
C.2  F. Bouchet , J. Barré, A. Venaille, 2008. Equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium phase transitions in systems with long range interactions and in 2D flows AIP conference proceedings (Assisi 07) .pdf
State of the art in statistical mechanics of long-range interating systems with application to two-dimensional turbulent flows.
C.1 A. Venaille., J. Sommeria, 2007.  Modeling mixing in two-dimensional turbulence and stratified fluidsCFM 07 .pdf
Discuss possible pdf methods for mixing in stratified fluids.

PhD Thesis

A. Venaille 2008.  Mélange et circulation océanique: une approche par la physique statistique. Thèse, université Grenoble 1 Joseph Fourier.

Posters

P.6 The vertical structure of quasi-geostrophic turbulence
P.5 Stochastic variability of oceanic flows above topography anomalies
P.4 Baroclinic instability and turbulence in the ocean  
P.3 Statistical mechanics of simple ocean models 
P.2 Ensemble inequivalence and phase transitions in 2D flows 
P.1 Mixing of a passive tracer: a simple model 
Raphaële Andrault

Modifie le 30 avril 2012