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Quantum Vortices Leave a Macroscopic Signature in the Thermal Background
Luca Galantucci1,2, Giorgio Krstulovic3, Carlo F Barenghi2
1IAC-CNR, Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo M. Picone, Via dei Taurini 19, Roma 00185, Italy.
Physical Review Letters
|January 26, 2026
Summary
Quantum turbulence in superfluid helium II involves quantized vortex lines interacting with the normal fluid. New research reveals these vortex lines create large wakes, impacting heat transfer and normal fluid velocity statistics.
Area of Science:
- Quantum fluid dynamics
- Superfluidity
- Low-temperature physics
Background:
- Quantum turbulence in superfluid helium II involves interacting quantized vortex lines.
- Landau's two-fluid theory describes vortex lines moving within a normal fluid of thermal excitations.
- The normal fluid was traditionally viewed as a passive medium for energy dissipation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between quantized vortex lines and the normal fluid in superfluid helium II.
- To explore the influence of vortex lines on the normal fluid's behavior and heat transfer properties.
- To numerically model the two-way interaction between vortex lines and the normal fluid.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations incorporating the two-way interaction between vortex lines and the normal fluid.
- Analysis of wake formation behind individual vortex lines.
- Modeling heat transfer experiments considering superimposed flows.
Main Results:
- Each quantized vortex line generates a macroscopic wake in the normal fluid, surprisingly larger than the inter-vortex distance.
- Normal fluid flow in heat transfer experiments is a superposition of uniform flow and vortex-induced wakes.
- Nonclassical velocity statistics are observed in the normal fluid due to these wakes.
Conclusions:
- The normal fluid is not merely a passive background but actively shaped by vortex lines.
- Vortex-induced wakes are significant fluid structures within the normal fluid.
- This interaction may explain previously unexplained experimental observations in superfluid helium II.
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