Quantum turbulence in Bose–Einstein condensates: Present status and new challenges ahead

Abstract

The field of quantum turbulence is related to the manifestation of turbulence in quantum fluids, such as liquid helium and ultracold gases. The concept of turbulence in quantum systems was conceived more than 70 years ago by Onsager and Feynman, but the study of turbulent ultracold gases is very recent. Although it is a young field, it already provides new approaches to the problem of turbulence. The authors review the advances and present status, of both theory and experiments, concerning atomic Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). The authors present the difficulties in characterizing turbulence in trapped BECs, if compared to classical turbulence or turbulence in liquid helium. The authors summarize the challenges ahead, mostly related to the understanding of fundamental properties of quantum turbulence, including what is being done to investigate them.