A quantum model for the onset of turbulence

Motivated by a recent suggestion that turbulence may have a quantum origin through the structure-dependence of constituent molecules, we study a gas of interacting two-level atoms using a Hartree-Fock description. We find that this system admits the possibility of an instability, allowing us to make some speculations based on exact results. We apply the new ideas to Couette flow. We also adopt a phenomenological view of dissipation, thus providing a way for an unstable system to approach equilibrium. We therefore model both the onset of instability and decay, even without full knowledge of how to describe the unstable state itself. We speculate that the unstable state corresponds to turbulence.