---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21295'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Depending on the type of flow, the transition to turbulence can take one
    of two forms: either turbulence arises from a sequence of instabilities or from
    the spatial proliferation of transiently chaotic domains, a process analogous
    to directed percolation. The former scenario is commonly referred to as a supercritical
    transition and frequently encountered in flows destabilized by body forces, whereas
    the latter subcritical transition is common in shear flows. Both cases are inherently
    continuous in a sense that the transformation from ordered laminar to fully turbulent
    fluid motion is only accomplished gradually with flow speed. Here we show that
    these established transition types do not account for the more general setting
    of shear flows subject to body forces. The combination of the two continuous scenarios
    leads to the attenuation of spatial coupling; with increasing forcing amplitude,
    the transition becomes increasingly sharp and eventually discontinuous. We argue
    that the suppression of laminar–turbulent coexistence and the approach towards
    a discontinuous phase transition potentially apply to a broad range of situations
    including flows subject to, for example, buoyancy, centrifugal or electromagnetic
    forces.'
acknowledgement: The work was supported by the Simons Foundation (grant number 662960,
  to B.H.). Open access funding provided by Institute of Science and Technology (IST
  Austria).
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Bowen
  full_name: Yang, Bowen
  id: 71b6ff4b-15b2-11ec-abd3-aef6b028cf7e
  last_name: Yang
  orcid: 0000-0002-4843-6853
- first_name: Yi
  full_name: Zhuang, Yi
  id: 3677B57C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Zhuang
- first_name: Gökhan
  full_name: Yalniz, Gökhan
  id: 66E74FA2-D8BF-11E9-8249-8DE2E5697425
  last_name: Yalniz
  orcid: 0000-0002-8490-9312
- first_name: Mukund
  full_name: Vasudevan, Mukund
  id: 3C5A959A-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Vasudevan
- first_name: Elena
  full_name: Marensi, Elena
  id: 0BE7553A-1004-11EA-B805-18983DDC885E
  last_name: Marensi
  orcid: 0000-0001-7173-4923
- first_name: Björn
  full_name: Hof, Björn
  id: 3A374330-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Hof
  orcid: 0000-0003-2057-2754
citation:
  ama: Yang B, Zhuang Y, Yalniz G, Vasudevan M, Marensi E, Hof B. Discontinuous transition
    to shear flow turbulence. <i>Nature Physics</i>. 2026. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3">10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3</a>
  apa: Yang, B., Zhuang, Y., Yalniz, G., Vasudevan, M., Marensi, E., &#38; Hof, B.
    (2026). Discontinuous transition to shear flow turbulence. <i>Nature Physics</i>.
    Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3</a>
  chicago: Yang, Bowen, Yi Zhuang, Gökhan Yalniz, Mukund Vasudevan, Elena Marensi,
    and Björn Hof. “Discontinuous Transition to Shear Flow Turbulence.” <i>Nature
    Physics</i>. Springer Nature, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3</a>.
  ieee: B. Yang, Y. Zhuang, G. Yalniz, M. Vasudevan, E. Marensi, and B. Hof, “Discontinuous
    transition to shear flow turbulence,” <i>Nature Physics</i>. Springer Nature,
    2026.
  ista: Yang B, Zhuang Y, Yalniz G, Vasudevan M, Marensi E, Hof B. 2026. Discontinuous
    transition to shear flow turbulence. Nature Physics.
  mla: Yang, Bowen, et al. “Discontinuous Transition to Shear Flow Turbulence.” <i>Nature
    Physics</i>, Springer Nature, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3">10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3</a>.
  short: B. Yang, Y. Zhuang, G. Yalniz, M. Vasudevan, E. Marensi, B. Hof, Nature Physics
    (2026).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-02-17T11:38:41Z
date_published: 2026-02-17T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-02-23T11:36:46Z
day: '17'
ddc:
- '532'
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: BjHo
doi: 10.1038/s41567-025-03166-3
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2311.11474'
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '02'
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 238598C6-32DE-11EA-91FC-C7463DDC885E
  grant_number: '662960'
  name: Revisiting the Turbulence Problem Using Statistical Mechanics
publication: Nature Physics
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1745-2481
  issn:
  - 1745-2473
publication_status: epub_ahead
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Discontinuous transition to shear flow turbulence
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2026'
...