Phase transitions of the energy-relative enstrophy theory for a coupled barotropic fluid–rotating sphere system

The statistical equilibrium of a coupled barotropic fluid–rotating solid sphere system is simulated using a energy-relative enstrophy spherical model in a wide range of parameter space by Monte Carlo (MC) methods [J.M. Hammersley, D.C. Handscomb, Monte Carlo Methods, Methuen & Co, London, Wiley, New York City, 1964; C.C. Lim, J. Nebus, Vorticity, Statistical Mechanics and Simulations, Springer, Berlin, 2006]. The energy-relative enstrophy model does not have the low temperature defect of the classical energy–enstrophy theory [R.H. Kraichnan, Statistical dynamics of two-dimensional flows, J. Fluid Mech. 67 (1975) 155–175] because of its microcanonical constraint on relative enstrophy. This model also differs from previous work in not fixing the angular momentum. A family of spin–lattice models are derived as convergent finite dimensional approximations to the total kinetic energy. MC simulations are used to calculate the mean nearest neighbor parity as order parameter or indicator of phase transitions in the system.