We review numerical studies of quantum turbulence. Quantum turbulence is currently one of the most important problems in low temperature physics and is actively studied for superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. A key aspect of quantum turbulence is the dynamics of condensates and quantized vortices. The dynamics of quantized vortices in superfluid helium are described by the vortex filament model, while the dynamics of condensates are described by the Gross-Pitaevskii model. Both of these models are nonlinear, and the quantum turbulent states of interest are far from equilibrium. Hence, numerical studies have been indispensable for studying quantum turbulence. In fact, numerical studies have contributed in revealing the various problems of quantum turbulence. This article reviews the recent developments in numerical studies of quantum turbulence. We start with the motivation and the basics of quantum turbulence and invite readers to the frontier of this research. Though there are many important topics in the quantum turbulence of superfluid helium, this article focuses on inhomogeneous quantum turbulence in a channel, which has been motivated by recent visualization experiments. Atomic Bose-Einstein condensates are a modern issue in quantum turbulence, and this article reviews a variety of topics in the quantum turbulence of condensates e.g. two-dimensional quantum turbulence, weak wave turbulence, turbulence in a spinor condensate, etc., some of which has not been addressed in superfluid helium and paves the novel way for quantum turbulence researches. Finally we discuss open problems.

We perform a numerical analysis of counterflow quantum turbulence of superfluid 4 He with nonuniform flows by using the vortex filament model. In recent visualization experiments nonuniform laminar flows of the normal fluid, namely, Hagen-Poiseuille flow and tail-flattened flow, have been observed. Tail-flattened flow is a novel laminar flow in which the outer part of the Hagen-Poiseuille flow becomes flat. In our simulation, the velocity field of the normal fluid is prescribed to be two nonuniform profiles. This work addresses a square channel to obtain important physics not revealed in the preceding numerical works. In the studies of the two profiles we analyze the statistics of the physical quantities. Under Hagen-Poiseuille flow, inhomogeneous quantum turbulence appears as a statistically steady state. The vortex tangle shows a characteristic space-time oscillation. Under tail-flattened flow, the nature of the quantum turbulence depends strongly on that flatness. Vortex line density increases significantly as the profile becomes flatter, being saturated above a certain flatness. The inhomogeneity is significantly reduced in comparison to the case of Hagen-Poiseuille flow. Investigating the behavior of quantized vortices reveals that tail-flattened flow is an intermediate state between Hagen-Poiseuille flow and uniform flow. In both profiles we obtain a characteristic inhomogeneity in the physical quantities, which suggests that a boundary layer of superfluid appears near a solid boundary. The vortex tangle produces a velocity field opposite to the applied superfluid flow, and, consequently, the superfluid flow becomes smaller than the applied one.PACS numbers: 67.25.dk, 67.25.dm

There are two commonly discussed forms of quantum turbulence in superfluid 4 He above 1K: in one there is a random tangle of quantizes vortex lines, existing in the presence of a non-turbulent normal fluid; in the second there is a coupled turbulent motion of the two fluids, often exhibiting quasi-classical characteristics on scales larger than the separation between the quantized vortex lines in the superfluid component. The decay of vortex line density, L, in the former case is often described by the equation dL/dt = −χ2(κ/2π)L 2 , where κ is the quantum of circulation, and χ2 is a dimensionless parameter of order unity. The decay of total turbulent energy, E, in the second case is often characterized by an effective kinematic viscosity, ν ′ , such that dE/dt = −ν ′ κ 2 L 2. We present new values of χ2 derived from numerical simulations and from experiment, which we compare with those derived from a theory developed by Vinen and Niemela. We summarise what is presently known about the values of ν ′ from experiment, and we present a brief introductory discussion of the relationship between χ2 and ν ′ , leaving a more detailed discussion to a later paper.

We investigate the thermal counterflow of the superfluid 4 He by numerically simulating threedimensional fully coupled dynamics of the two fluids, namely quantized vortices and a normal fluid. We analyze the velocity fluctuations of the laminar normal fluid arising from the mutual friction with the quantum turbulence of the superfluid component. The streamwise fluctuations exhibit higher intensity and longer-range autocorrelation, as compared to transverse fluctuations. Those anomalous fluctuations are consistent with the experiments. The fluctuations will trigger the transition of the normal fluid to turbulence unlike single-component flows.

The coupled dynamics of the two-fluid model of superfluid ^{4}He is numerically studied for quantum turbulence of the thermal counterflow in a square channel. We combine the vortex filament model of the superfluid and the Navier-Stokes equations of normal fluid. Simulations of the coupled dynamics show that the velocity profile of the normal fluid is deformed significantly by superfluid turbulence as the vortices become dense. This result is consistent with recently performed visualization experiments. We introduce a dimensionless parameter that characterizes the deformation of the velocity profile.