Abstract
The emergence of coherent rotating structures is a phenomenon characteristic of both classical and quantum two-dimensional (2D) turbulence. In this work we show theoretically that the coherent vortex structures that emerge in decaying 2D quantum turbulence can approach quasiclassical rigid-body rotation, obeying the Feynman rule of constant average areal vortex density while remaining spatially disordered. By developing a rigorous link between the velocity probability distribution and the quantum kinetic energy spectrum over wave number k, we show that the coherent vortex structures are associated with a k3 power law in the infrared region of the spectrum, and a well-defined spectral peak that is a physical manifestation of the largest structures. We discuss the possibility of realizing coherent structures in Bose-Einstein condensate experiments and present Gross-Pitaevskii simulations showing that this phenomenon, and its associated spectral signatures, can emerge dynamically from feasible initial vortex configurations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 053631 |
Journal | Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics |
Volume | 89 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 30 2014 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics