Instability of vortex array and transitions to turbulent states in rotating helium II

We consider superfluid helium inside a container which rotates at constant angular velocity and investigate numerically the stability of the array of quantized vortices in the presence of an imposed axial counterflow. This problem was studied experimentally by Swanson {\it et al.}, who reported evidence of instabilities at increasing axial flow but were not able to explain their nature. We find that Kelvin waves on individual vortices become unstable and grow in amplitude, until the amplitude of the waves becomes large enough that vortex reconnections take place and the vortex array is destabilized. The eventual nonlinear saturation of the instability consists of a turbulent tangle of quantized vortices which is strongly polarized. The computed results compare well with the experiments. Finally we suggest a theoretical explanation for the second instability which was observed at higher values of the axial flow

Rotating inclined cylinder and the effect of the tilt angle on vortices

We study numerically some possible vortex configurations in a rotating cylinder that is tilted with respect to the rotation axis and where different numbers of vortices can be present at given rotation velocity. In a long cylinder at small tilt angles the vortices tend to align along the cylinder axis and not along the rotation axis. We also show that the axial flow along the cylinder axis, caused by the tilt, will result in the Ostermeier-Glaberson instability above some critical tilt angle. When the vortices become unstable the final state often appears to be a dynamical steady state, which may contain turbulent regions where new vortices are constantly created. These new vortices push other vortices in regions with laminar flow towards the top and bottom ends of the cylinder where they finally annihilate. Experimentally the inclined cylinder could be a convenient environment to create long lasting turbulence with a polarization which can be adjusted with the tilt angle.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Hopping Transport in the Presence of Site Energy Disorder: Temperature and Concentration Scaling of Conductivity Spectra

Recent measurements on ion conducting glasses have revealed that conductivity spectra for various temperatures and ionic concentrations can be superimposed onto a common master curve by an appropriate rescaling of the conductivity and frequency. In order to understand the origin of the observed scaling behavior, we investigate by Monte Carlo simulations the diffusion of particles in a lattice with site energy disorder for a wide range of both temperatures and concentrations. While the model can account for the changes in ionic activation energies upon changing the concentration, it in general yields conductivity spectra that exhibit no scaling behavior. However, for typical concentrations and sufficiently low temperatures, a fairly good data collapse is obtained analogous to that found in experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The QCD Phase Structure at High Baryon Density

We consider the possibility that color deconfinement and chiral symmetry restoration do not coincide in dense baryonic matter at low temperature. As a consequence, a state of massive "constituent" quarks would exist as an intermediate phase between confined nuclear matter and the plasma of deconfined massless quarks and gluons. We discuss the properties of this state and its relation to the recently proposed quarkyonic matter.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Evolution of the electron temperature profile of ohmically heated plasmas in TFTR

Blackbody electron cyclotron emission was used to ascertain and study the evolution and behavior of the electron temperature profile in ohmically heated plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). The emission was measured with absolutely calibrated millimeter wavelength radiometers. The temperature profile normalized to the central temperature and minor radius is observed to broaden substantially with decreasing limiter safety factor q/sub a/, and is insensitive to the plasma minor radius. Sawtooth activity was seen in the core of most TFTR discharges and appeared to be associated with a flattening of the electron temperature profile within the plasma core where q less than or equal to 1. Two types of sawtooth behavior were identified in large TFTR plasmas (minor radius, a less than or equal to 0.8 m) : a typically 35 to 40 msec period ''normal'' sawtooth, and a ''compound'' sawtooth with 70 to 80 msec period