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arXiv:cond-mat/9709127 · International Journal of Modern Physics B

QUANTIZED VORTICES IN SUPERFLUIDS AND SUPERCONDUCTORS

D. J. Thouless, Ping Ao, Qian Niu, Michael R. Geller, Carlos Wexler

Published Mar 10, 1999• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We give a general review of recent developments in the theory of vortices in superfluids and superconductors, discussing why the dynamics of vortices is important, and why some key results are still controversial. We discuss work that we have done on the dynamics of quantized vortices in a superfluid. Despite the fact that this problem has been recognized as important for forty years, there is still a lot of controversy about the forces on and masses of quantized vortices. We think that one can get unambiguous answers by considering a broken symmetry state that consists of one vortex in an infinite ideal system. We argue for a Magnus force that is proportional to the superfluid density, and we find that the effective mass density of a vortex in a neutral superfluid is divergent at low frequencies. We have generalized some of the results for a neutral superfluid to a charged system.

DOI
10.1142/s0217979299000576

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We give a general review of recent developments in the theory of vortices in superfluids and superconductors, discussing why the dynamics of vortices is important, and why some key results are still controversial. We discuss work that we have done on the dynamics of quantized vortices in a superfluid. Despite the fact that this problem has been recognized as important for forty years, there is still a lot of controversy about the forces on and masses of quantized vortices. We think that one can get unambiguous answers by considering a broken symmetry state that consists of one vortex in an infinite ideal system. We argue for a Magnus force that is proportional to the superfluid density, and we find that the effective mass density of a vortex in a neutral superfluid is divergent at low frequencies. We have generalized some of the results for a neutral superfluid to a charged system.
A comprehensive overview of the basic principles of vortex dynamics in superfluids, this book addresses the problems of vortex dynamics in all three superfluids available in laboratories (4He, 3He, and BEC of cold atoms) alongside discussions of the elasticity of vortices, forces on vortices, and vortex mass. Beginning with a summary of classical hydrodynamics, the book guides the reader through examinations of vortex dynamics from large scales to the microscopic scale. Topics such as vortex arrays in rotating superfluids, bound states in vortex cores and interaction of vortices with quasiparticles are discussed. The final chapter of the book considers implications of vortex dynamics to superfluid turbulence using simple scaling and symmetry arguments. Written from a unified point of view that avoids complicated mathematical approaches, this text is ideal for students and researchers working with vortex dynamics in superfluids, superconductors, magnetically ordered materials, neutron stars and cosmological models.
Superfluid turbulence has been one of the most important problems of superfluid hydrodynamics, in which quantized vortices play a significant role. The recent research on superfluid turbulence enters a new stage rather different from the old ones chiefly devoted to thermal counterflow. After describing the current motivation on these topics, we discuss our research which studies the energy spectrum both by the vortex filament model and the Gross-Pitaevskii model. Both energy spectra are consistent with the Kolmogorov law, which shows a close similarity between superfluid (quantum) and classical turbulence.
Bose-Einstein condensation is a quantum statistical phase transition which was theoretically predicted almost a hundred years ago. After years of seminal research, physicists realized the first almost ideal Bose-Einstein condensates in ultracold dilute atomic gases in 1995. Since then, the theoretical and experimental methods concerning such systems have been developing rapidly, and many fascinating phenomena have been found in these novel quantum systems.\n\nBose-Einstein condensation occurs in a system consisting of massive bosons when a single quantum state becomes macroscopically occupied as the temperature is lowered below the transition temperature. In general, condensates consisting of repulsively interacting bosons exhibit superfluidity: Particle currents can flow in the system without dissipation and viscosity. Moreover, the velocity fields of condensates have to be irrotational, which severely restricts the rotational characteristics of these systems. Apart from the center of mass motion, the system may carry angular momentum in the form of elementary excitations or so-called quantized vortices.\n\nThis Thesis is a theoretical study of subjects related to stability and dynamics of quantized vortices in dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. The precession and instability of off-centered vortices in trapped condensates is investigated both in the zero-temperature limit and at finite temperatures. Dynamical stability of multiply quantized vortices and vortex clusters is studied in axisymmetric trap geometries. Splitting of energetically and dynamically unstable multiply quantized vortices into singly quantized vortices is also studied. Finally, as a separate subject, tunneling of a condensate through a potential barrier is investigated. Majority of this work relies on numerical methods for solving the Gross-Pitaevskii and Bogoliubov equations, which are of central importance in the study of dilute atomic Bose-Einstein condensates.
The goal of creating and observing quantized vortices in trapped Bose gases arose almost immediately following the first achievements of Bose–Einstein condensation. The motivation for doing so was the obvious analogy with vortices in liquid helium and in type-II superconductors, and the fact that the quantization of circulation is directly associated with superfluid flow. It was recognized that the observation of quantized vortices could be taken as indisputable evidence for the existence of superfluidity in these systems. The review by Fetter and Svidzinsky (2001) contains a summary of the early experiments and the theoretical background for understanding the vortex state in a weakly interacting Bose gas based on the GP equation. This material will not be repeated here apart from those aspects that have a direct bearing on the focus of the present chapter, namely the properties of vortices at finite temperature. Although there have been some theoretical contributions to this subject, much remains to be done. The discussion in this chapter provides a framework for addressing the finite-temperature properties of vortex formation and vortex lattices in the context of the ZNG theory. The results in this chapter have not been published before, apart from those in subsection 9.8.1, which are based on Williams et al. (2002). There are several issues that relate to finite temperatures. First, there is the nucleation and formation of vortices from an initial highly nonequilibrium state. Second, there is the interaction of vortices with thermal excitations, which is responsible for the dissipative dynamics of a nonequilibrium vortex state. Third, there is the question of the final equilibrium state, with respect to the condensate and noncondensate densities in the vicinity of a vortex and to the geometrical arrangement of vortices in space.
Vortex mass, which is the inertia of a quantum vortex, has never been observed in superfluids and is a long-standing problem in low-temperature physics. The impact of the mass is considered negligible in typical experiments with superfluid 4He^{4}\mathrm{He}4He. Recent developments of experimental techniques for manipulating quantum vortices in superfluid atomic gases have enabled us to test this problem more accurately. By introducing the vortex mass time and length as universal scales to many-body problems of massive quantum vortices, the theoretical description is formulated in the simplest manner and is universally applicable to different quantum fluids, including fermionic and multicomponent superfluids. There are two branches, the cyclotron and massless branches, for the circular motion of a pair of like-sign vortices. Finding a stable cyclotron branch for the motion of vortices is a clear evidence of vortex mass and superfluid $^{3}\mathrm{He}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{B}$ is the specific example of a system where this phenomena could be observed. The impact of the mass on the massless branch is small but can be enhanced by taking the difference in the two-body dynamics of point vortices with different initial conditions. Our results imply that the vortex mass is a direct cause of the splitting instability of a doubly quantized vortex at absolute zero and that the vortex mass length characterizes the final state after the instability. It is also demonstrated that a pair of massive vortices with opposite circulations has a critical distance characterized by the vortex mass length, below which they are spontaneously annihilated without thermal fluctuations.
We investigate the dynamics of quantized vortices in a model two-dimensional supersolid. Starting from an effective action that captures the dynamics of the superfluid condensate and its coupling to the lattice displacements, we integrate out the low-energy Goldstone modes-the phonons of the solid and the superfluid condensate-to arrive at an effective action for the vortices in the condensate. In the low-velocity limit we calculate the effective inertial mass for the vortices, and we find that the mass has a logarithmic frequency dependence, similar to the inertial mass found in superfluid vortices. The vortex dynamics also includes a Magnus force term in the equation of motion that arises from the Berry phase in the effective action.