Diffusion of an Inhomogeneous Vortex Tangle

The spatial diffusion of an inhomogeneous vortex tangle is studied numerically with the vortex filament model. A localized initial tangle is prepared by applying a counterflow, and the tangle is allowed to diffuse freely after the counterflow is turned off. Comparison with the solution of a generalization of the Vinen equation that takes diffusion into account leads to a very small diffusion constant, as expected from simple theoretical considerations. The relevance of this result to recent experiments on the generation and decay of superfluid turbulence at very low temperatures is discussed.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure

The Generation of Turbulence by Oscillating Structures in Superfluid Helium at Very Low Temperatures

The paper is concerned with the interpretation of many experiments that have been reported recently on the production of quantum turbulence by oscillating spheres, wires and grids in both 4He and 3He-B at temperatures so low that there is a negligible fraction of normal fluid. The experimental results are compared with those obtained in analogous experiments with classical fluids and with preliminary simulations of the quantum turbulence. Particular attention is paid to observed values of drag coefficients and to the very different critical velocities observed in 4He and 3He. It is tentatively concluded that in the case of 4He behaviour may well be similar to that observed in the classical analogues, with relatively small changes when the characteristic size of the oscillating structure is not large compared with the quantized vortex spacing, but that in the case of 3He behaviour is very different and due perhaps to very rapid intrinsic nucleation of the quantized vortices.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Derivation of the transverse force on a moving vortex in a superfluid

We describe an exact derivation of the total nondissipative transverse force acting on a quantized vortex moving in a uniform background. The derivation is valid for neutral boson or fermion superfluids, provided the order parameter is a complex scalar quantity. The force is determined by the one-particle density matrix far away from the vortex core, and is found to be the Magnus force proportional to the superfluid density.Comment: Latex, 6 page

Quantum Turbulence in a Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensate

We study quantum turbulence in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Combining rotations around two axes, we successfully induce quantum turbulent state in which quantized vortices are not crystallized but tangled. The obtained spectrum of the incompressible kinetic energy is consistent with the Kolmogorov law, the most important statistical law in turbulence.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Physical Review A 76, 045603 (2007

Kolmogorov spectrum of superfluid turbulence: numerical analysis of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with the small scale dissipation

The energy spectrum of superfluid turbulence is studied numerically by solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We introduce the dissipation term which works only in the scale smaller than the healing length, to remove short wavelength excitations which may hinder the cascade process of quantized vortices in the inertial range. The obtained energy spectrum is consistent with the Kolmogorov law.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and 1 table. Submitted to American Journal of Physic

The approach to vortex reconnection

We present numerical solutions of the Gross--Pitaevskii equation corresponding to reconnecting vortex lines. We determine the separation of vortices as a function of time during the approach to reconnection, and study the formation of pyramidal vortex structures. Results are compared with analytical work and numerical studies based on the vortex filament method.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Thermal dissipation in quantum turbulence

The microscopic mechanism of thermal dissipation in quantum turbulence has been numerically studied by solving the coupled system involving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation. At low temperatures, the obtained dissipation does not work at scales greater than the vortex core size. However, as the temperature increases, dissipation works at large scales and it affects the vortex dynamics. We successfully obtained the mutual friction coefficients of the vortex dynamics as functions of temperature, which can be applied to the vortex dynamics in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to AP