Subcritical transition to turbulence in wall-bounded flows: the case of plane Poiseuille flow

Abstract: In wall-bounded flows, the laminar regime remain linearly stable up to large values of the Reynolds number while competing with nonlinear turbulent solutions issued from finite amplitude perturbations. The transition to turbulence of plane channel flow (plane Poiseuille flow) is more specifically considered via numerical simulations. Previous conflicting observations are reconciled by noting that the two-dimensional directed percolation scenario expected for the decay of turbulence may be interrupted by a symmetry-breaking bifurcation favoring localized turbulent bands. At the other end of the transitional range, a preliminary study suggests that the laminar-turbulent pattern leaves room to a featureless regime beyond a well defined threshold to be determined with precision.