Energy spectrum in the enstrophy transfer range of two-dimensional forced turbulence

Numerical simulations of two-dimensional forced turbulence suggest that the enstrophy transfer range energy spectrum E(k) a little steeper than k(-3) is robust in the sense that it may be realized in a wave number range under different run conditions. It is shown that such energy spectra fit well E(k)=C(K)eta (2/3)k(-3)[ln(k/k(1))](-1/3), where C-K is a dimensionless constant, eta the enstrophy transfer rate per unit mass and k(1) a wave number at the bottom of the range. The simulations give C(K)approximate to1.9 in fairly good agreement with the existing theoretical estimates. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.