Quantum Turbulence in a Three-Dimensional Holographic Superfluid

TL;DR

This paper uses holographic duality to simulate three-dimensional superfluid turbulence, revealing universal scaling regimes and dissipative vortex dynamics during thermalization.

Contribution

It provides the first real-time numerical simulations of 3D holographic superfluid turbulence, uncovering universal scaling laws and vortex behavior.

Findings

Observation of two universal scaling regimes, including Kolmogorov-like turbulence.

Rapid vortex ring shrinking and annihilation indicating strong dissipation.

Vortex reconnections lead to turbulent evolution towards equilibrium.

Abstract

We report real-time simulations of far-from-equilibrium dynamics of a holographic superfluid in three dimensions. The holographic duality maps a strongly coupled superfluid to a weakly coupled theory with gravity in a higher-dimensional curved space which we study numerically. Starting from configurations of dense tangles of quantized vortex lines, the superfluid exhibits turbulent behavior during its evolution towards thermal equilibrium. Specifically, we observe two subsequent universal regimes of quasi-stationary scaling in the occupation number spectrum, the first of which is Kolmogorov-like. Indications for the strongly dissipative nature of vortex dynamics in the three-dimensional holographic superfluid are found in the rapid shrinking and annihilation of small vortex rings that emerge from frequent reconnections of vortex lines during the evolution.