Effect of a random noise on scaling laws of finite Prandtl number rotatingconvection near threshold

A generalized Swift-Hohenberg model including a weak random forcing, viewed as mimicking the intrinsic source of noise due to boundary defects, is use d to reproduce the experimentally observed power-law variation of the corre lation length of rotating convection patterns as a function of the stress p arameter near threshold, and to demonstrate the sensitivity of the exponent to the amplitude of the superimposed random noise. The scaling properties of rotating convection near threshold are thus conjectured to be nonunivers al. [S1063-651X(99)51705-4].