Dam-break reflections and localized turbulence in Bose-Einstein condensates

At ultracold temperatures, atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) demonstrate unique characteristics, such as superfluidity, forming an excellent platform for investigating hydrodynamic flow with tunable light fields. Recent studies have quantified superfluid flow initiated by a dam-break in a harmonic trap, revealing a phonon-like excitation region that forms an acoustic white hole. Building on these findings, we use a rubidium BEC and a dynamic, repulsive optical barrier to explore dam-reflection dynamics and probe new flow phenomena. We present results that show the complex dyanmics that occur when a non-trivial rarefaction flow interacts with a static barrier, forming a complex region of quantum turbulence that grows exponentially and can be related to similar experiments in deep channel water flow. We also present results of long-time dynamics after a piston-shock experiment, revealing turbulent disspation in the system. These results offering fresh insights into the complex dynamics of quantum fluid flows and provide a path forward for understanding turbulence and dissipation in these nonlinear systems.