Three-dimensional vortex dynamics in superfluid /sup 4/He: Homogeneous superfluid turbulence

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.38.2398· OSTI ID:6918322

Schwarz, K W

The behavior of a tangle of quantized vortex lines subject to uniform superfluid and normal-fluid driving velocities is investigated. The dynamical equation of the quantized vortices in the local approximation is supplemented by the assumption that when two such singularities cross, they undergo a reconnection. The properties of the dynamical equation, when combined with the assumption of homogeneity, imply numerous scaling relations, which are in fact observed experimentally. The primitive dynamical rules are utilized to perform extensive numerical simulations of the vortex tangle, using not only periodic, but also smooth-wall and rough-wall boundary conditions. All lead to the same homogeneous vortex-tangle state, although the case of periodic boundary conditions requires an additional trick to eliminate artificial features. The quantitative results obtained from these simulations are found to be in excellent absolute agreement with a large variety of experiments, including recent studies of the vortex-tangle anisotropy.

• Research Organization: IBM Research Division, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598
• OSTI ID: 6918322
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 38:4; ISSN PRBMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640450* -- Fluid Physics-- Superfluidity
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ANISOTROPY
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
DYNAMICS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FLUIDS
HELIUM 4
HELIUM II
HELIUM ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MECHANICS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
QUANTUM FLUIDS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
ROUGHNESS
SCALING LAWS
SIMULATION
STABLE ISOTOPES
SUPERFLUIDITY
SURFACE PROPERTIES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TURBULENCE
VORTICES