Abstract
Ultracold quantum gases with long-range anisotropic interactions host novel exotic phases of matter, such as supersolids, exhibiting both rigid and superfluid characteristics. The impact of this interplay on the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of dipolar gases, and in particular its connection with universal turbulent behavior, remains highly unexplored. Here, upon considering a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate of dysprosium atoms being dynamically driven across the supersolid-superfluid phase transition and vice versa, we unveil the emergence of a robust nonequilibrium quasi-steady state. This state displays self-similar momentum distributions exhibiting algebraic decay at large momenta, with scaling exponents supporting the existence of wave turbulence. We demonstrate that supersolidity sustaining higher-lying momenta, associated with the roton minimum, promotes the development of turbulence. Our results provide a stepping stone toward unraveling and exploiting turbulent and self-similar behavior in anisotropically long-range interacting quantum gases amenable in current experiments.
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Acknowledgements
S. I. M. acknowledges support from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Department of Physics, in the framework of a Startup fund. Financial support by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Research Council are also acknowledged (K. M.). S. I. M. acknowledges extensive discussions with H. R. Sadeghpour in the context of universal dynamics and supersolid character. K.M. gratefully acknowledges many discussions with Stephanie M. Reimann on the topic of supersolidity. The authors acknowledge the anonymous referees for their insightful comments.
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G.A.B. performed the numerical simulations and carried out the associated analysis. K.M. benchmarked part of the simulations and developed numerical scripts for portions of the analysis. S.I.M. conceived the idea of the work, supervised and funded the project. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results and the writing of the manuscript.
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Bougas, G.A., Mukherjee, K. & Mistakidis, S.I. Generation of wave turbulence in dipolar gases driven across their phase transitions. Commun Phys (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02487-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02487-w
