Dynamical properties of vortices in superfluid systems

Carlos Wexler

Nikolai B. Kopnin

Excitations in vortex cores in superconductors and other Fermi superfluids are single-particle excitations with a peculiar energy spectrum. These excitations are responsible for many important thermodynamic properties such as specific heat, London penetration length, etc. They also determine the dynamic characteristics of superconductors and superfluids through their interaction with vortices. Flux flow resistance, the Hall effect in type II superconductors and the mutual friction in superfluids are the most important phenomena which strongly depend on vortex core excitations. These phenomena determine the electromagnetic responses of type II superconductors and the hydrodynamic behaviour of superfluids and are of great significance for practical applications of superconducting devices and for understanding the most fundamental properties of correlated electrons and other Fermi particles. In this review we consider the dynamic properties of superconductors and superfluids and outline the basic ideas and results on the vortex dynamics in clean superfluid Fermi systems. The forces acting on moving vortices are discussed including the problem of the transverse force which was a matter of confusion for quite some time. We formulate the equations of the vortex dynamics, which include all the forces and the inertial term associated with excitations bound to the moving vortex.

Ivan A. Pshenichnyuk

Quantum vortices in superfluids may capture matter and deposit it inside their core. By doping vortices with foreign particles one can effectively visualize them and study them experimentally. To acquire a better understanding of the interaction between quantum vortices and matter, and clarify the details of recent experiments, the properties of doped vortices are investigated here theoretically in the regimes where the doping mass becomes close to the total mass of superfluid particles forming a vortex. Such formations are dynamically stable and, possessing both vorticity and enhanced inertia, demonstrate properties that are different from the pure vortex case. The goal of this paper is to define and investigate the universal aspects of heavily doped vortex behavior, which can be realized in different types of quantum mixtures. The proposed 3D model is based on a system of coupled semiclassical matter wave equations that are solved numerically in a wide range of physical parameters. The size, geometry and binding energy of dopants in different regimes are discussed. The coupled motion of a vortex–dopant complex and decoupling conditions are studied. The reconnection of vortices, taken as an example of a fundamental process responsible for the evolution of a quantum turbulent state, is modeled to illustrate the difference between the light and heavy doping cases.

William Frank Vinen

Lucy J. Campbell

Piotr Magierski, Andrea Barresi, Andrzej Makowski +2 more

Abstract Superfluid dilute neutron matter and ultracold gas, close to the unitary regime, exhibit several similarities. Therefore, to a certain extent, fermionic ultracold gases may serve as emulators of dilute neutron matter, which forms the inner crust of neutron stars and is not directly accessed experimentally. Quantum vortices are one of the most significant properties of neutron superfluid, essential for comprehending neutron stars’ dynamics. The structure and dynamics of quantum vortices as a function of pairing correlations’ strength are being investigated experimentally and theoretically in ultracold gases. Certain aspects of these studies are relevant to neutron stars. We provide an overview of the characteristics of quantum vortices in s-wave-type fermionic and electrically neutral superfluids. The main focus is on the dynamics of fermionic vortices and their intrinsic structure.