The past decade has seen atomic Bose-Einstein condensates emerge as a promising prototype system to explore the quantum mechanical form of turbulence, buoyed by a powerful experimental toolbox to control and manipulate the fluid, and the amenity to describe the system from first-principles. This article presents an overview of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates, from its history and fundamental motivations, its characteristics and key results to date, and finally to some promising future directions.
The past decade has seen atomic Bose-Einstein condensates emerge as a promising prototype system to explore the quantum mechanical form of turbulence, buoyed by a powerful experimental toolbox to control and manipulate the fluid, and the amenity to describe the system from first-principles. This article presents an overview of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates, from its history and fundamental motivations, its characteristics and key results to date, and finally to some promising future directions.
The past decade has seen atomic Bose-Einstein condensates emerge as a promising prototype system to explore the quantum mechanical form of turbulence, buoyed by a powerful experimental toolbox to control and manipulate the fluid, and the amenity to describe the system from first principles. This chapter presents an overview of this topic, from its history and fundamental motivations, its characteristics and key results to date, and finally to some promising future directions. A Quantum Storm in a Teacup A befitting title to this chapter could have been “a quantum storm in a teacup.” The storm refers to a turbulent state of a fluid, teeming with swirls and waves. Quantum refers to the fact that the fluid is not the classical viscous fluid of conventional storms but rather a quantum fluid in which viscosity is absent and the swirls are quantized. The quantum fluid in our story is a quantum-degenerate gas of bosonic atoms, an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), formed at less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. And finally the teacup refers to the bowl-like potential used to confine the gas; this makes the fluid inherently inhomogeneous and finite-sized. A typical image of our quantum storm in a teacup is shown in Fig. 17.1a. This chapter reviews quantum turbulence in atomic condensates, tracing its history (Section 17.2), introducing the main theoretical approach (Section 17.3) and the underyling quantum vortices (Section 17.4).We then turn to describing physical characteristics (Section 17.5), the experimental observations to date (Section 17.6), methods of generating turbulence (Section 17.7), and some exciting research directions (Section 17.8) before presenting an outlook (Section 17.9). Origins Turbulence refers to a highly agitated, disordered, and nonlinear fluid motion, characterized by the presence of eddies and energy across a range of length and time scales [3]. It occurs ubiquitously in nature, from blood flow and waterways to atmospheres and the interstellar medium, and is of practical importance in many industrial and engineering contexts. Since da Vinci's first scientific study of turbulent flow of water past obstacles, circa 1507, research into turbulence in classical viscous fluids continues with vigor; however, due to its rich complexities, the physical essence and mathematical description of turbulence remain a challenge.
Weakly interacting, dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have proved to be an attractive context for the study of nonlinear dynamics and quantum effects at the macroscopic scale. Recently, weakly interacting, dilute atomic BECs have been used to investigate quantum turbulence both experimentally and theoretically, stimulated largely by the high degree of control which is available within these quantum gases. In this article we motivate the use of weakly interacting, dilute atomic BECs for the study of turbulence, discuss the characteristic regimes of turbulence which are accessible, and briefly review some selected investigations of quantum turbulence and recent results. We focus on three stages of turbulence- the generation of turbulence, its steady state and its decay- and highlight some fundamental questions regarding our understanding in each of these regimes. 1.
Weakly interacting, dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have proved to be an attractive context for the study of nonlinear dynamics and quantum effects at the macroscopic scale. Recently, weakly interacting, dilute atomic BECs have been used to investigate quantum turbulence both experimentally and theoretically, stimulated largely by the high degree of control which is available within these quantum gases. In this article we motivate the use of weakly interacting, dilute atomic BECs for the study of turbulence, discuss the characteristic regimes of turbulence which are accessible, and briefly review some selected investigations of quantum turbulence and recent results. We focus on three stages of turbulence – the generation of turbulence, its steady state and its decay – and highlight some fundamental questions regarding our understanding in each of these regimes.
The term quantum turbulence denotes the turbulent motion of quantum fluids, systems such as superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, which are characterized by quantized vorticity, superfluidity, and, at finite temperatures, two-fluid behavior. This article introduces their basic properties, describes types and regimes of turbulence that have been observed, and highlights similarities and differences between quantum turbulence and classical turbulence in ordinary fluids. Our aim is also to link together the articles of this special issue and to provide a perspective of the future development of a subject that contains aspects of fluid mechanics, atomic physics, condensed matter, and low-temperature physics.
After more than a decade of experiments generating and studying the physics of quantized vortices in atomic gas Bose-Einstein condensates, research is beginning to focus on the roles of vortices in quantum turbulence, as well as other measures of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates. Such research directions have the potential to uncover new insights into quantum turbulence, vortices, and superfluidity and also explore the similarities and differences between quantum and classical turbulence in entirely new settings. Here we present a critical assessment of theoretical and experimental studies in this emerging field of quantum turbulence in atomic condensates.