Experimental evidence of Kelvin wave turbulence along a vortex core
Abstract
Wave turbulence is a regime of interacting nonlinear waves occurring in most physical systems. Kelvin waves are helical distortions that propagate along vortex filaments and are believed to play a central role in quantum turbulence up to atmospheric vortices. Yet, Kelvin wave turbulence has remained inaccessible to direct experimental observation. Here, we report the first direct experimental observation of Kelvin-wave turbulence along a single vortex filament in a classical fluid under controlled conditions. Using high-resolution spatiotemporal measurements, we resolve Kelvin-wave dynamics over a broad range of scales and obtain wave-amplitude spectra consistent with the predicted weak-turbulence cascade. We identify six-wave resonant interactions as the mechanism driving this energy transfer, providing direct experimental support for a long-standing prediction of weak-turbulence theory. These results establish an experimental platform for investigating energy transport along vortex filaments, with broader implications for both classical and quantum turbulent systems.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{barckicke2026experimental,
title = {{Experimental evidence of Kelvin wave turbulence along a vortex core}},
author = {Jason Barckicke and Christophe Gissinger and Eric Falcon},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.07535},
eprint = {2607.07535},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.07535},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Experimental evidence of Kelvin wave turbulence along a vortex core
AU - Jason Barckicke
AU - Christophe Gissinger
AU - Eric Falcon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.07535
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.07535
AB - Wave turbulence is a regime of interacting nonlinear waves occurring in most physical systems. Kelvin waves are helical distortions that propagate along vortex filaments and are believed to play a central role in quantum turbulence up to atmospheric vortices. Yet, Kelvin wave turbulence has remained inaccessible to direct experimental observation. Here, we report the first direct experimental observation of Kelvin-wave turbulence along a single vortex filament in a classical fluid under controlled conditions. Using high-resolution spatiotemporal measurements, we resolve Kelvin-wave dynamics over a broad range of scales and obtain wave-amplitude spectra consistent with the predicted weak-turbulence cascade. We identify six-wave resonant interactions as the mechanism driving this energy transfer, providing direct experimental support for a long-standing prediction of weak-turbulence theory. These results establish an experimental platform for investigating energy transport along vortex filaments, with broader implications for both classical and quantum turbulent systems.
ER -