Dissipation anomaly in a turbulent quantum fluid

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dissipation anomaly in turbulent quantum fluids, demonstrating through simulations that as the superfluid Reynolds number increases, smaller vortex structures form, maintaining finite energy dissipation.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of a superfluid analog to the classical dissipation anomaly using numerical simulations and superfluid Reynolds number analysis.

Findings

Dissipation remains finite as superfluid Reynolds number increases.

Smaller vortex structures form at higher superfluid Reynolds numbers.

Numerical evidence supports the superfluid dissipation anomaly concept.

Abstract

When the intensity of turbulence is increased (by increasing the Reynolds number, e.g. by reducing the viscosity of the fluid), the rate of the dissipation of kinetic energy decreases but does not tend asymptotically to zero: it levels off to a non-zero constant as smaller and smaller vortical flow structures are generated. This fundamental property, called the dissipation anomaly, is sometimes referred to as the zeroth law of turbulence. The question of what happens in the limit of vanishing viscosity (purely hypothetical in classical fluids) acquires a particular physical significance in the context of liquid helium, a quantum fluid which becomes effectively inviscid at low temperatures achievable in the laboratory. By performing numerical simulations and identifying the superfluid Reynolds number, here we show evidence for a superfluid analog to the classical dissipation anomaly. Our numerics indeed show that as the superfluid Reynolds number increases, smaller and smaller structures are generated on the quantized vortex lines on which the superfluid vorticity is confined, balancing the effect of weaker and weaker dissipation.