Abstract
We present measurements of the fluid velocity in a rotating Couette-Taylor system of aspect ratio near 1. At small angular speed of the inner cylinder, the system contains a symmetric vortex pair. As increases, the vortex boundary moves off center, and a suitably defined order parameter becomes nonzero. This bifurcation changes from forward to backward as is increased. Results for agree quantitatively with the predictions of a Landau model for tricritical behavior.
- Received 26 December 1984
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.54.673
©1985 American Physical Society