Fokker-Planck approach to wave turbulence

Abstract

The Kolmogorov-Zakharov stationary states for weak wave turbulence involve solving a leading-order kinetic equation. Recent calculations of higher-order corrections to this kinetic equation using the Martin-Siggia-Rose path integral are reconsidered in terms of stationary states of a Fokker-Planck Hamiltonian. A non-perturbative relation closely related to the quantum mechanical Ehrenfest theorem is introduced and used to express the kinetic equation in terms of divergences of two-point expectation values in the limit of zero dissipation. Similar equations are associated to divergences in higher-order cumulants. It is additionally shown that the ordinary thermal equilibrium state is not actually a stationary state of the Fokker-Planck Hamiltonian, and a non-linear modification of dissipation is considered to remedy this.