Quantum turbulence

Abstract

We present a review of quantum turbulence, that is, the turbulent motion of quantized vortex lines in superfluid helium. Our discussion concentrates on the turbulence produced by steady, uniform heat flow in a pipe, but touches on other turbulent flows as well. We have attempted to motivate the study of quantum turbulence and discuss briefly its connection with classical turbulence. We include background on the two-fluid model and mutual friction theory, examples of modern experimental techniques, and a brief survey of the phenomenology. We discuss the important recent insights that vortex dynamics has provided to the understanding of quantum turbulence, from simple scaling arguments to detailed numerical simulations. We conclude with a discussion of open questions in this field.