Paper detail

Tangled vortex lines: dynamics, geometry and topology of quantum turbulence

Near absolute zero, superfluid liquid helium displays quantum properties at macroscopic length scales. One property, superfluidity, means flow with zero viscosity. Another property, the existence of a complex wavefunction, constrains the rotation to thin, discrete vortex lines carrying one quantum of circulation each. Therefore, if liquid helium is stirred, it becomes turbulent, but in a peculiar way: it is a state of turbulence consisting of a tangle of quantised vortex lines in a fluid without viscosity. Surprisingly, this disordered state, which I called quantum turbulence years ago, shares many properties with ordinary turbulence as it represents its essential skeleton. These lectures attempt to relate the dynamics, the geometry and the topology of quantum turbulence. Although recently much progress has been made, there are still many open questions. Some of the methods which have been used and are described here (e.g. the smoothed vorticity, the use of crossing numbers) have a scope which clearly goes beyond the fascinating problem of turbulence near absolute zero.