ePrints

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a single-component atomic superfluid

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Andrew BaggaleyORCiD, Professor Nick ParkerORCiD

Downloads

• Accepted version [.pdf]

Licence

This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by American Physical Society, 2018.

For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.

Abstract

We demonstrate an experimentally feasible method for generating the classical Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a single-component atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. By progressively reducing a potential barrier between two counterflowing channels, we seed a line of quantized vortices, which precede to form progressively larger clusters, mimicking the classical roll-up behavior of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This cluster formation leads to an effective superfluid shear layer, formed through the collective motion of many quantized vortices. From this we demonstrate a straightforward method to measure the effective viscosity of a turbulent quantum fluid in a system with a moderate number of vortices, within the range of current experimental capabilities.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Baggaley AW, Parker NG

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Physical Review A

Year: 2018

Volume: 97

Online publication date: 14/05/2018

Acceptance date: 14/05/2018

Date deposited: 16/05/2018

ISSN (print): 2469-9926

ISSN (electronic): 2469-9934

Publisher: American Physical Society

URL: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053608

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053608

Altmetrics

Funding

Share