In quantum fluids, energy can 'teleport' from huge swirls straight to tiny ones, skipping everything in the middle.
March 24, 2026
Original Paper
Nonlocal energy transfer mechanism in three-dimensional quantum turbulence
arXiv · 2603.21979
The Takeaway
In every normal fluid like air or water, energy moves from large scales to small scales through a predictable 'cascade' of smaller and smaller eddies. This study reveals that quantum fluids break this rule, allowing energy to bypass the cascade entirely and jump directly to the smallest scales of the system.
From the abstract
We investigate the kinetic energy cascade in zero-temperature quantum turbulence. Using simple theoretical arguments and unprecedented numerical simulations, we unveil an universal mechanism transferring energy directly from large to very small scales, thus bypassing the Kolmogorov-like local energy cascade and resulting in nonclassical energy spectra. This mechanism rests both on the vast separation of scales typical of superfluid helium-4 flows and on the alignment between quantum vortices and