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arXiv:0911.1733 · Physical Review B

Interaction of Kelvin waves and nonlocality of energy transfer in superfluids

Jason Laurie, Victor S. L’vov, Sergey Nazarenko, Oleksii Rudenko

Published Mar 26, 2010• 72 citations

Abstract

We argue that the physics of interacting Kelvin Waves (KWs) is highly nontrivial and cannot be understood on the basis of pure dimensional reasoning. A consistent theory of KW turbulence in superfluids should be based upon explicit knowledge of their interactions. To achieve this, we present a detailed calculation and comprehensive analysis of the interaction coefficients for KW turbuelence, thereby, resolving previous mistakes stemming from unaccounted contributions. As a first application of this analysis, we derive a local nonlinear (partial differential) equation. This equation is much simpler for analysis and numerical simulations of KWs than the Biot-Savart equation, and in contrast to the completely integrable local induction approximation (in which the energy exchange between KWs is absent), describes the nonlinear dynamics of KWs. Second, we show that the previously suggested Kozik-Svistunov energy spectrum for KWs, which has often been used in the analysis of experimental and numerical data in superfluid turbulence, is irrelevant, because it is based upon an erroneous assumption of the locality of the energy transfer through scales. Moreover, we demonstrate the weak nonlocality of the inverse cascade spectrum with a constant particle-number flux and find resulting logarithmic corrections to this spectrum.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.81.104526

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We comment on the paper by Sonin [Phys. Rev. B 85, 104516 (2012)] with most statements of which we disagree. We use this option to shed light on some important issues of a theory of Kelvin-wave turbulence, touched on in Sonin's paper, in particular, on the relation between the Vinen spectrum of strong and the L'vov-Nazarenko spectrum of weak turbulence of Kelvin waves. We also discuss the role of explicit calculation of the Kelvin-wave interaction Hamiltonian and ``symmetry arguments'' that have to resolve a contradiction between the Kozik-Svistunov and the L'vov-Nazarenko spectrum of weak turbulence of Kelvin waves.

We study the statistical and dynamical behavior of turbulent Kelvin waves propagating on quantized vortices in superfluids and address the controversy concerning the energy spectrum that is associated with these excitations. Finding the correct energy spectrum is important because Kelvin waves play a major role in the dissipation of energy in superfluid turbulence at near-zero temperatures. In this paper, we show analytically that the solution proposed by [L'vov and Nazarenko, JETP Lett. 91, 428 (2010)] enjoys existence, uniqueness, and regularity of the prefactor. Furthermore, we present numerical results of the dynamical equation that describes to leading order the nonlocal regime of the Kelvin-wave dynamics. We compare our findings with the analytical results from the proposed local and nonlocal theories for Kelvin-wave dynamics and show an agreement with the nonlocal predictions. Accordingly, the spectrum proposed by L'vov and Nazarenko should be used in future theories of quantum turbulence. Finally, for weaker wave forcing we observe an intermittent behavior of the wave spectrum with a fluctuating dissipative scale, which we interpreted as a finite-size effect characteristic of mesoscopic wave turbulence.

Abstract Quantum turbulence — the chaotic, non-equilibrium state of a superfluid threaded by a dense tangle of quantized vortex lines — provides a uniquely clean testbed for the universal statistical mechanics of turbulent energy transfer. We develop a theoretical account of the energy cascade across all relevant length scales: from macroscopic, quasi-classical Richardson–Kolmogorov eddies, through the dimensionally frustrated L’vov–Nazarenko–Rudenko (LNR) bottleneck at the mean inter-vortex spacing, down to the weakly nonlinear Kelvin-wave cascade on individual filaments, and finally to the zero-temperature dissipation cutoff. Starting from the Gross–Pitaevskii equation and its Madelung hydrodynamic decomposition, we separate the compressible and incompressible components of the flow to isolate the vortical and acoustic energy channels. Vortex reconnection is identified as the microscopic mechanism coupling these regimes, and the competing predictions of the Vortex Filament Model and the Gross–Pitaevskii equation for reconnection dynamics are compared. We review the theoretical controversy between the Kozik–Svistunov six-wave cascade and the L’vov–Nazarenko four-wave cascade, together with the associated tilt-symmetry debate, and present the finite-temperature two-fluid (HVBK) description, showing how mutual friction locks the normal and superfluid components at large scales while damping Kelvin waves at small scales. PACS numbers: 67.25.dk, 47.37.+q, 03.75.Kk, 47.32.C−

We study numerically the interaction of four initial superfluid vortex rings in the absence of any dissipation or friction. We find evidence for a cascade of Kelvin waves generated by individual vortex reconnection events which transfers energy to higher and higher wave numbers k. After the vortex reconnections occur, the energy spectrum scales as k(-1) and the curvature spectrum becomes flat. These effects highlight the importance of Kelvin waves and reconnections in the transfer of energy within a turbulent vortex tangle.

As long as vorticity quantization remains irrelevant for long-wave physics, superfluid turbulence supports a regime macroscopically identical to the Kolmogorov cascade of a normal liquid. At high enough wave numbers, the energy flux in wavelength space is carried by individual Kelvin-wave cascades on separate vortex lines. We analyze the transformation of the Kolmogorov cascade into the Kelvin-wave cascade, revealing a chain of three distinct intermediate cascades supported by local-induction motion of the vortex lines and distinguished by specific reconnection mechanisms. The most prominent qualitative feature predicted is unavoidable production of vortex rings of a characteristic size.