Dipole dynamics in the point vortex model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dynamics of point vortex dipoles and their interactions with vortex structures, revealing mechanisms of cluster disintegration and insights into turbulence and quantum vortex behavior.

Contribution

It introduces new findings on dipole size evolution, cluster stability, and the role of dipole-cluster interactions, with a focus on quantum turbulence analogies.

Findings

Discovered a rapid cluster disintegration mechanism.

Analyzed stability properties of vortex clusters.

Explored the role of dipole interactions in turbulent mixing.

Abstract

At the very heart of turbulent fluid flows are many interacting vortices that produce a chaotic and seemingly unpredictable velocity field. Gaining new insight into the complex motion of vortices and how they can lead to topological changes of flows is of fundamental importance in our strive to understand turbulence. Our aim is form an understanding of vortex interactions by investigating the dynamics of point vortex dipoles interacting with a hierarchy of vortex structures using the idealized point vortex model. Motivated by its close analogy to the dynamics of quantum vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates, we present new results on dipole size evolution, stability properties of vortex clusters, and the role of dipole-cluster interactions in turbulent mixing in 2D quantum turbulence. In particular, we discover a mechanism of rapid cluster disintegration analogous to a time-reversed self-similar vortex collapse solution.