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Unified wake topology map for He II counterflow past a cylinder

Yingxuan Hu1, Wenlin Huang1, Shihao Yang1, Limin Qiu1,2,*, and Shiran Bao1,2,†

  • 1Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
  • 2Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Refrigeration and Cryogenic Technology, Hangzhou 310027, China

  • *Contact author: limin.qiu@zju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: srbao@zju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033159 – Published 10 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/klbl-7xnz

Abstract

Thermal counterflow of superfluid He4 past a cylinder produces quasisteady eddies not only downstream but also anomalously upstream. However, the mechanism and organizing principles behind the observed multistable wake topologies (zero-, two-, four-, and six-vortex states) have remained unclear. We show that the full spectrum of reported normal-fluid wake states is captured numerically with a two-fluid model coupled to Vinen’s vortex-line-density equation. Our simulations further reveal that the superfluid component can also develop anomalous upstream eddies, a feature not previously reported. We trace these behaviors to a self-organized zone of enhanced mutual-friction dissipation near the cylinder shoulders that reshapes the effective obstacle, drives upstream eddies in both components, and suppresses intrinsic wake oscillations in the normal fluid. Guided by this mechanism, we perform systematic parameter scans and construct a unified phase diagram in terms of the normal-fluid Reynolds number Ren and a dimensionless interaction number N, separating inertia- and mutual-friction-controlled transitions and delineating the parameter windows for the discrete wake topologies. These results turn a striking phenomenology into a predictive map and establish mutual-friction feedback as a robust route to unusual wake structures in quantum fluids.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033159– Published 10 August, 2026
  • Received 5 February 2026
  • Revised 5 April 2026
  • Accepted 14 July 2026
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