Waves propagation in turbulent superfluid helium in presence of combined rotation and counterflow

A complete study of the propagation of waves (namely longitudinal density and temperature waves, longitudinal and transversal velocity waves and heat waves) in turbulent superfluid helium is made in three situations: a rotating frame, a thermal counterflow, and the simultaneous combination of thermal counterflow and rotation. Our analysis aims to obtain as much as possible information on the tangle of quantized vortices from the wave speed and attenuation factor of these different waves, depending on their relative direction of propagation with respect to the rotation vector.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics analysis of rotating counterflow superfluid turbulence

In two previous papers two evolution equations for the vortex line density $L$, proposed by Vinen, were generalized to rotating superfluid turbulence and compared with each other. Here, the already generalized alternative Vinen equation is extended to the case in which counterflow and rotation are not collinear. Then, the obtained equation is considered from the viewpoint of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. According with this formalism, the compatibility between this evolution equation for $L$ and that one for the velocity of the superfluid component is studied. The compatibility condition requires the presence of a new term dependent on the anisotropy of the tangle, which indicates how the friction force depends on the rotation rate.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

The saturation of decaying counterflow turbulence in helium II

We are concerned with the problem of the decay of a tangle of quantized vortices in He II generated by a heat current. Direct application of Vinen's equation yields the temporal scaling of vortex line density $L \sim t^{-1}$. Schwarz and Rozen [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 66}, 1898 (1991); Phys. Rev. B {\bf 44}, 7563 (1991)] observed a faster decay followed by a slower decay. More recently, Skrbek and collaborators [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 67}, 047302 (2003)] found an initial transient followed by the same classical $t^{-3/2}$ scaling observed in the decay of grid-generated turbulence. We present a simple theoretical model which, we argue, contains the essential physical ingredients, and accounts for these apparently contradictory results.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Vortex density waves and high-frequency second sound in superfluid turbulence hydrodynamics

In this paper we show that a recent hydrodynamical model of superfluid turbulence describes vortex density waves and their effects on the speed of high-frequency second sound. In this frequency regime, the vortex dynamics is not purely diffusive, as for low frequencies, but exhibits ondulatory features, whose influence on the second sound is here explored.Comment: 8 page

Effective thermal conductivity of helium II: from Landau to Gorter-Mellink regimes

The size-dependent and flux-dependent effective thermal conductivity of narrow channels filled with He II is analyzed. The classical Landau evaluation of the effective thermal conductivity of quiescent He II is extended to describe the transition to fully turbulent regime, where the heat flux is proportional to the cubic root of the temperature gradient (Gorter-Mellink regime). To do so we use an expression for the quantum vortex line density $L$ in terms of the heat flux considering the influence of the walls. From it, and taking into account the friction force of normal component against the vortices, we compute the effective thermal conductivity

Transition to ballistic regime for heat transport in helium II

The size-dependent and flux-dependent effective thermal conductivity of narrow capillaries filled with superfluid helium is analyzed from a thermodynamic continuum perspective. The classical Landau evaluation of the effective thermal conductivity of quiescent superfluid, or the Gorter-Mellinck regime of turbulent superfluids, are extended to describe the transition to ballistic regime in narrow channels wherein the radius $R$ is comparable to (or smaller than) the phonon mean-free path $\ell$ in superfluid helium. To do so we start from an extended equation for the heat flux incorporating non-local terms, and take into consideration a heat slip flow along the walls of the tube. This leads from an effective thermal conductivity proportional to $R^2$ (Landau regime) to another one proportional to $R\ell$ (ballistic regime). We consider two kinds of flows: along cylindrical pipes and along two infinite parallel plates.Comment: 16 page

Test of Information Theory on the Boltzmann Equation

We examine information theory using the steady-state Boltzmann equation. In a nonequilibrium steady-state system under steady heat conduction, the thermodynamic quantities from information theory are calculated and compared with those from the steady-state Boltzmann equation. We have found that information theory is inconsistent with the steady-state Boltzmann equation.Comment: 12 page

Hydrodynamic equations of anisotropic, polarized and inhomogeneous superfluid vortex tangles

We include the effects of anisotropy and polarization in the hydrodynamics of inhomogeneous vortex tangles, thus generalizing the well known Hall-Vinen-Bekarevich-Khalatnikov equations, which do not take them in consideration. These effects contribute to the mutual friction force ${\bf F}_{ns}$ between normal and superfluid components and to the vortex tension force $\rho_s{\bf T}$. These equations are complemented by an evolution equation for the vortex line density $L$, which takes into account these contributions. These equations are expected to be more suitable than the usual ones for rotating counterflows, or turbulence behind a cylinder, or turbulence produced by a grid of parallel thin cylinders towed across a superfluid, because in these situations polarization is expected to play a relevant role.Comment: 21 page

Dynamics of the vortex line density in superfluid counterflow turbulence

Describing superfluid turbulence at intermediate scales between the inter-vortex distance and the macroscale requires an acceptable equation of motion for the density of quantized vortex lines $\cal{L}$. The closure of such an equation for superfluid inhomogeneous flows requires additional inputs besides $\cal{L}$ and the normal and superfluid velocity fields. In this paper we offer a minimal closure using one additional anisotropy parameter $I_{l0}$. Using the example of counterflow superfluid turbulence we derive two coupled closure equations for the vortex line density and the anisotropy parameter $I_{l0}$ with an input of the normal and superfluid velocity fields. The various closure assumptions and the predictions of the resulting theory are tested against numerical simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure