Chaotic interface dynamics: A model with turbulent behavior

We explore the similarities between the dynamics of rough interfaces and fully developed hydrodynamical turbulence. In particular, we introduce a simple system of coupled mappings that (1) is chaotic with an attractor whose dimension grows proportionally to the system size, (2) generates small-scale structure, and (3) has structure functions that grow as power laws. We discuss the universality classes that determine the large-distance long-time behavior by computing the exponents for the scaling of the interface width. © 1992 The American Physical Society.