Fluctuations of the vortex line density in turbulent flows of quantum fluids

TL;DR

This paper analytically examines vortex line density fluctuations in quantum fluid turbulence, distinguishing between disordered and bundle vortex configurations, and relates their spectral behaviors to turbulence types and experimental observations.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical framework linking vortex line density fluctuations to turbulence regimes and explains spectral differences observed in experiments.

Findings

Disordered vortex turbulence exhibits an /3 spectrum.

Bundle vortex arrangements show a spectrum from /3 to 1/3 depending on temperature.

Relaxation dynamics differ between Vinen and HVBK models.

Abstract

We present an analytical study of fluctuations of the Vortex Line Density (VLD) $<\delta \mathcal{L}(\omega) \delta \mathcal{L}(-\omega)>$ in turbulent flows of quantum fluids. Two cases are considered. The first one is the counterflowing (Vinen) turbulence, where the vortex lines are disordered, and the evolution of quantity $\mathcal{L}(t)$ obeys the Vinen equation. The second case is the quasi-classic turbulence, where vortex lines are believed to form the so called vortex bundles, and their dynamics is described by the HVBK equations. The latter case, is of a special interest, since a number of recent experiments demonstrate the $\omega ^{-5/3}$ dependence for spectrum VLD, instead of $\omega ^{1/3}$ law, typical for spectrum of vorticity. In nonstationary situation, in particular, in the fluctuating turbulent flow there is a retardation between the instantaneous value of the normal velocity and the quantity $\mathcal{L}$. This retardation tends to decrease in the accordance with the inner dynamics, which has a relaxation character. In both cases the relaxation dynamics of VLD is related to fluctuations of the relative velocity, however if for the Vinen case the rate of temporal change for $\mathcal{L}(t)$ is directly depends on $\delta \mathbf{v}_{ns}$, for the HVBK dynamics it depends on $\nabla \times \delta \mathbf{v}_{ns}$. As a result, for the disordered case the spectrum $<\delta \mathcal{L}(\omega) \delta \mathcal{L}(-\omega)>$ coincides with the spectrum $\omega ^{-5/3} $. In the case of the bundle arrangement, the spectrum of the VLD varies (at different temperatures) from $\omega ^{1/3}$ to $\omega ^{-5/3}$ dependencies. This conclusion may serve as a basis for the experimental determination of what kind of the turbulence is implemented in different types of generation.