Direct Energy Cascade in Two-Dimensional Compressible Quantum Turbulence

We numerically study two-dimensional quantum turbulence with a Gross–Pitaevskii model. With the energy initially accumulated at large scale, quantum turbulence with many quantized vortex points is generated. Due to the lack of enstrophy conservation in this model, direct energy cascade with a Kolmogorov–Obukhov energy spectrum $E(k)\propto k^{-5\mathrm{/}3}$ is observed, which is quite different from two-dimensional incompressible classical turbulence in the decaying case. A positive value for the energy flux guarantees a \emph{direct} energy cascade in the inertial range (from large to small scales). After almost all the energy at the large scale cascades to the small scale, the compressible kinetic energy realizes the thermodynamic equilibrium state without quantized vortices.