The Statistical Properties of Superfluid Turbulence in $^4$He from the Hall-Vinen-Bekharevich-Khalatnikov Model


Abstract in English

We obtain the von Karman-Howarth relation for the stochastically forced three-dimensional Hall-Vinen-Bekharvich-Khalatnikov (3D HVBK) model of superfluid turbulence in Helium ($^4$He) by using the generating-functional approach. We combine direct numerical simulations (DNSs) and analyitcal studies to show that, in the statistically steady state of homogeneous and isotropic superfluid turbulence, in the 3D HVBK model, the probability distribution function (PDF) $P(gamma)$, of the ratio $gamma$ of the magnitude of the normal fluid velocity and superfluid velocity, has power-law tails that scale as $P(gamma) sim gamma^3$, for $gamma ll 1$, and $P(gamma) sim gamma^{-3}$, for $gamma gg 1$. Furthermore, we show that the PDF $P(theta)$, of the angle $theta$ between the normal-fluid velocity and superfluid velocity exhibits the following power-law behaviors: $P(theta)sim theta$ for $theta ll theta_*$ and $P(theta)sim theta^{-4}$ for $theta_* ll theta ll 1$, where $theta_*$ is a crossover angle that we estimate. From our DNSs we obtain energy, energy-flux, and mutual-friction-transfer spectra, and the longitudinal-structure-function exponents for the normal fluid and the superfluid, as a function of the temperature $T$, by using the experimentally determined mutual-friction coefficients for superfluid Helium $^4$He, so our results are of direct relevance to superfluid turbulence in this system.

Download