Holographic Vortex Liquids and Superfluid Turbulence

Abstract

Superfluid turbulence is a fascinating phenomenon for which a satisfactory theoretical framework is lacking. Holographic duality provides a systematic approach to studying such quantum turbulence by mapping the dynamics of a strongly interacting quantum liquid into the dynamics of classical gravity. We use this gravitational description to numerically construct turbulent flows in a holographic superfluid in two spatial dimensions. We find that the superfluid kinetic energy spectrum obeys the Kolmogorov -5/3 scaling law, with energy injected at long wavelengths undergoing a direct cascade to short wavelengths where dissipation by vortex annihilation and vortex drag becomes efficient. This dissipation has a simple gravitational interpretation as energy flux across a black hole event horizon.