Decay of two-dimensional quantum turbulence in binary Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

We study two-dimensional quantum turbulence in miscible binary Bose-Einstein condensates in either a harmonic trap or a steep-wall trap through the numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. The turbulence is generated through a Gaussian stirring potential. When the condensates have unequal intra-component coupling strengths or asymmetric trap frequencies, the turbulent condensates undergo a dramatic decay dynamics to an interlaced array of vortex-antidark structures, a quasi-equilibrium state, of like-signed vortices with an extended size of the vortex core. The time of formation of this state is shortened when the parameter asymmetry of the intra-component couplings or the trap frequencies are enhanced. The corresponding spectrum of the incompressible kinetic energy exhibits two noteworthy features: (i) a $k^{-3}$ power-law around the range of the wave number determined by the spin healing length (the size of the extended vortex-core) and (ii) a flat region around the range of the wave number determined by the density healing length. The latter is associated with the small scale phase fluctuation relegated outside the Thomas-Fermi radius and is more prominent as the strength of intercomponent interaction approaches the strength of intra-component interaction. We also study the impact of the inter-component interaction to the cluster formation of like-signed vortices in an elliptical steep-wall trap, finding that the inter-component coupling gives rise to the decay of the clustered configuration.