Frontiers of turbulence and statistical physics meet

Abstract Statistical mechanics seeks to connect microscopic dynamics with the large-scale behaviour of systems with many interacting degrees of freedom. While these ideas successfully explain equilibrium phenomena, such as gases, magnets and phase transitions, many natural systems operate far from equilibrium, where prediction becomes far more difficult. Among the most important non-equilibrium phenomena is turbulence: chaotic motion in fluids and plasmas spanning vast ranges of scales, from atmospheric and oceanic flows to superfluids and engineering systems. This special issue explores how modern ideas from non-equilibrium statistical mechanics (NESM), dynamical systems and many-body physics are helping uncover hidden order, fluctuations and universal behaviour within turbulence. Readers are invited to explore frontier research on quantum turbulence, turbulent plasmas, coherent structures and new theoretical approaches that may shape the future of turbulence science. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Frontiers of turbulence and statistical physics’.