Bursting of columnar structures in forced rotating turbulence

A coherent vortex column in rotating turbulence forms, bursts apart due to instabilities, and reforms again --- a cycle driven by a tug-of-war between the destabilizing effect of elliptical instability and the stabilizing influence of rotation. Using Fourier-space analysis, including ring spectra and mode-to-mode energy transfer, we identify a forward energy cascade and the activation of vertical modes (kz = 2, 3) as precursors to bursting, indicating how spectral energy transfer drives the collapse and reformation of the structure.