[Quantum Gas Lab] Enhancement of damping in a turbulent atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (published in PRL)
Turbulence enhances momentum transport in classical fluids, effectively increasing their viscosity. We investigate an analogous effect in a superfluid by measuring the damping of collective oscillations in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) containing stationary spin-superflow turbulence. Using continuous spin driving to maintain turbulence in a spin-1 23Na BEC, we excite its quadrupole mode and measure the damping rate over a range of temperatures. The damping consistently exceeds the Landau-damping rate expected for an equilibrium, non-turbulent BEC. The enhancement likely originates from two complementary processes: direct energy transfer from the mode to turbulent condensate fluctuations and turbulence-induced modification of the thermal cloud that amplifies Landau damping. These results establish collective-mode damping as a sensitive probe of momentum transport in superfluid turbulence.
Authors : Junghoon Lee, Jongmin Kim1,2, Jongheum Jung1, and Y. Shin