Turbulent dynamics in rotating helium superfluids

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent experimental advances in understanding turbulence in helium superfluids, focusing on low-temperature regimes where mutual friction diminishes, revealing quantum turbulence mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into turbulence initiation, dissipation, and decay in helium superfluids, especially at near-zero temperatures, using innovative generation and detection techniques.

Findings

Mutual friction becomes negligible at very low temperatures.

Normal component remains laminar in 3He-B, simplifying turbulence analysis.

Quantum turbulence mechanisms are elucidated near zero temperature.

Abstract

New techniques, both for generating and detecting turbulence in the helium superfluids 3He-B and 4He, have recently given insight in how turbulence is started, what the dissipation mechanisms are, and how turbulence decays when it appears as a transient state or when externally applied turbulent pumping is switched off. Important simplifications are obtained by using 3He-B as working fluid, where the highly viscous normal component is practically always in a state of laminar flow, or by cooling 4He to low temperatures where the normal fraction becomes vanishingly small. We describe recent studies from the low temperature regime, where mutual friction becomes small or practically vanishes. This allows us to elucidate the mechanisms at work in quantum turbulence on approaching the zero temperature limit.