  Particles in turbulence frequently encounter extreme accelerations between
extended periods of quiescence. The occurrence of extreme events is closely
related to the intermittent spatial distribution of intense flow structures
such as vorticity filaments. This mixed history of flow conditions leads to
very complex particle statistics with a pronounced scale dependence, which
presents one of the major challenges on the way to a non-equilibrium
statistical mechanics of turbulence. Here, we introduce the notion of
persistent Lagrangian acceleration, quantified by the squared particle
acceleration coarse-grained over a viscous time scale. Conditioning Lagrangian
particle data from simulations on this coarse-grained acceleration, we find
remarkably simple, close-to-Gaussian statistics for a range of Reynolds
numbers. This opens the possibility to decompose the complex particle
statistics into much simpler sub-ensembles. Based on this observation, we
develop a comprehensive theoretical framework for Lagrangian single-particle
statistics that captures the acceleration, velocity increments as well as
single-particle dispersion.
