Wingtip vortices are circular patterns of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift.[1]: 5.14 The name is a misnomer because the cores of the vortices are slightly inboard of the wing tips.[2]: 369 Wingtip vortices are sometimes named trailing or lift-induced vortices because they also occur at points other than at the wing tips.[1]: 5.14 Indeed, vorticity is trailed at any point on the wing where the lift varies span-wise (a fact described and quantified by the lifting-line theory); it eventually rolls up into large vortices near the wingtip, at the edge of flap devices, or at other abrupt changes in wing planform.
Wingtip vortices are associated with induced drag, the imparting of downwash, and are a fundamental consequence of three-dimensional lift generation.[1]: 5.17, 8.9 Careful selection of wing geometry (in particular, wingspan), as well as of cruise conditions, are design and operational methods to minimize induced drag.
Wingtip vortices form the primary component of wake turbulence. Depending on ambient atmospheric humidity as well as the geometry and wing loading of aircraft, water may condense or freeze in the core of the vortices, making the vortices visible.
When a wing generates aerodynamic lift, it results in a region of downwash between the two vortices.[3][2]: 8.1.1 [4]
Three-dimensional lift and the occurrence of wingtip vortices can be approached with the concept of horseshoe vortex and described accurately with the Lanchester–Prandtl theory. In this view, the trailing vortex is a continuation of the wing-bound vortex inherent to the lift generation.
Wingtip vortices are associated with induced drag, an unavoidable consequence of three-dimensional lift generation. The rotary motion of the air within the shed wingtip vortices (sometimes described as a "leakage") reduces the effective angle of attack of the air on the wing.