On using extreme values to detect global stability thresholds in multi-stable systems: The case of transitional plane Couette flow

Extreme Value Theory (EVT) is exploited to determine the global stability threshold RgRg of plane Couette flow – the flow of a viscous fluid in the space between two parallel plates – whose laminar or turbulent behavior depends on the Reynolds number R  . Even if the existence of a global stability threshold has been detected in simulations and experiments, its numerical value has not been unequivocally defined. RgRg is the value such that for R>RgR>Rg, turbulence is sustained, whereas for R