Rotation of a Tangle of Quantized Vortex Lines in He II

Abstract

The densities of vortex lines in He II due to rotation and axial counterflow do not simply add. With slow rotation, the critical counterflow velocity is greatly reduced. At high counterflow velocities, rotation adds fewer lines than expected, suggesting that the vortex tangle is polarized by rotation. Two critical velocities are found, the smaller of which agrees quantitatively with an explanation by Glaberson, Johnson, and Ostermeier of an instability found by Cheng, Cromar, and Donnelly.