Lagrangian particles in turbulence separate away from each other faster in the backward in time direction as compared to forward in time. This work shows that this time asymmetry can be explained on the grounds of kinematics: when viewed backward in time, the particles' relative velocities are more aligned with the separation vector as compared to when viewed forward in time. This makes the separation process backward in time more efficient, leading to the observed time asymmetry.

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• Anomalous diffusion
• Energy cascade
• Turbulence
• Direct numerical simulations
• Lagrangian particle tracking