Paper detail

Dynamics of turbulent plugs in a superfluid $^4$He channel counterflow

Quantum turbulence in superfluid He-4 in narrow channels often takes the form of moving localized vortex tangles. Such tangles, called turbulent plugs, also serve as building blocks of quantum turbulence in wider channels. We report on a numerical study of various aspects of the dynamics and structure of turbulent plugs in a wide range of governing parameters. The unrestricted growth of the tangle in a long channel provides a unique view on a natural tangle structure including superfluid motion at many scales. We argue that the edges of the plugs propagate as turbulent fronts, following the advection-diffusion-reaction dynamics. This analysis shows that the dynamics of the two edges of the tangle have distinctly different nature. We provide an analytic solution of the equation of motion for the fronts that define their shape, velocities and effective diffusivity, and analyze these parameters for various flow conditions.