Cosmic primeval turbulence

Two fundamental problems in the theory of cosmic turbulence are discussed in this thesis. The first problem concerns the energy spectrum of the cosmic turbulence and its evolution prior to decoupling. The turbulent dissipation of energy is studied. Generalizing the conventional physical transfer theory of turbulence to the case of expanding cosmic turbulence, it is shown that the cosmic turbulence spectrum obeys Kolmogorov's Law in the inertial range. The results of a numerical computation confirm the theory. The second problem concerns the effect of turbulence dissipation on the spectrum of the microwave background radiation. The mechanism whereby energy is transferred from decaying cosmic turbulence to the electrons and photons is studied. The distortions of the cosmic microwave background radiation spectrum resulting from turbulence energy input are then calculated analytically and numerically. The results are used to re-evaluate the constraints on the theory of cosmic turbulence imposed by observations