Spontaneous Quantum Turbulence in a Newborn Bose-Einstein Condensate via the Kibble-Zurek Mechanism
Abstract
The Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) predicts the spontaneous formation of topological defects in a continuous phase transition driven at a finite rate. We propose the generation of spontaneous quantum turbulence (SQT) via the KZM during Bose-Einstein condensation induced by a thermal quench. Using numerical simulations of the stochastic projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation in two spatial dimensions, we describe the formation of a newborn Bose-Einstein condensate proliferated by quantum vortices. We establish the nonequilibrium universality of SQT through the Kibble-Zurek and Kolmogorov scaling of the incompressible kinetic energy.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
Quantum many-body systems
Quantum
superfluid
helium dynamics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Letters
- Volume
- 137
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 020402–020402
- Publication date
- 28 May 2026
- Language
- EN