  Understanding large scale circulations (LSCs) in turbulent convective systems
is important for the study of stars, planets and in many industrial
applications. The canonical model of the LSC is quasi-planar with additional
horizontal sloshing and torsional modes [Brown E, Ahlers G (2009) J. Fluid
Mech. 638:383--400; Funfschilling D, Ahlers G (2004) Phys. Rev. Lett.
92(19):194502; Xi HD et al. (2009) Phys. Rev. Lett. 102(4):044503; Zhou Q et
al. (2009) J. Fluid Mech. 630:367--390]. Using liquid gallium as the working
fluid, we show via coupled laboratory-numerical experiments that the LSC in a
tank with aspect ratios greater than unity takes instead the form of a "jump
rope vortex", a strongly three-dimensional mode that periodically orbits around
the tank following a motion much like a jump rope on a playground. Further
experiments show that this jump rope flow also exists in more viscous fluids
such as water, albeit with a far smaller signal. Thus, this new jump rope mode
is an essential component of the turbulent convection that underlies our
observations of natural systems.
