Superfluid Dynamics Research Articles

A new self-consistent approach of quantum turbulence in superfluid helium

We present the Fully cOUpled loCAl model of sUperfLuid Turbulence (FOUCAULT) that describes the dynamics of finite temperature superfluids. The superfluid component is described by the vortex filament method while the normal fluid is governed by a modified Navier–Stokes equation. The superfluid vortex lines and normal fluid components are fully coupled in a self-consistent manner by the friction force, which induces local disturbances in the normal fluid in the vicinity of vortex lines. The main focus of this work is the numerical scheme for distributing the friction force to the mesh points where the normal fluid is defined (stemming from recent advances in the study of the interaction between a classical viscous fluid and small active particles) and for evaluating the velocity of the normal fluid on the Lagrangian discretisation points along the vortex lines. In particular, we show that if this numerical scheme is not careful enough, spurious results may occur. The new scheme which we propose to overcome these difficulties is based on physical principles. Finally, we apply the new method to the problem of the motion of a superfluid vortex ring in a stationary normal fluid and in a turbulent normal fluid.

Amplitude of Waves in the Kelvin-Wave Cascade

Development of experimental techniques to study superfluid dynamics, in particular, application of nanomechanical oscillators to drive vortex lines, enables potential observation of the Kelvin-wave cascade on quantized vortices. One of the first questions which then arises in analysis of the experimental results is the relation between the energy flux in the cascade and the amplitude of the Kelvin waves. We provide such relation based on the L'vov-Nazarenko picture of the cascade. Remarkably, the amplitude of the waves depends on the energy flux extermely weakly, as power one tenth.

A variational approach to relativistic superfluid vortex elasticity

It is well known that a superfluid rotates by forming an array of quantized vortices. A relativistic formulation for superfluid vortex dynamics is required for a range of problems in astrophysics and cosmology, from neutron star interiors and radio pulsar glitches to possible dark matter condensates on galactic scales. This paper develops a formalism for such systems, extending the well-established variational approach to relativistic fluids to account for the presence of a collection of quantized vortices. The model is firmly anchored in the geometry of the problem (drawing on aspects from basic string dynamics) and accounts for elastic aspects associated with a vortex array, providing a precise foundation for applications which have so far been based on somewhat ad hoc phenomenology.

Coarse-grained pressure dynamics in superfluid turbulence

Coarse-grained superfluid dynamics are investigated through detailed numerical simulation at the level of individual quantized vortex lines. Simulations show a strong correlation between the formation of quantized vortex bundles and the production of extreme negative pressure regions in excess of 3 standard deviations. This motivates the use of experimental pressure measurements for probing superfluid turbulence at low temperatures.

Two-body collisions in the time-of-flight dynamics of lattice Bose superfluids

We investigate two-body collisions occurring during the time-of-flight expansion of interacting three-dimensional lattice Bose superfluids. The number of collisions is extracted from the observed s-wave scattering halos located between the diffraction peaks of the superfluids. These faint halos can be monitored thanks to the large dynamical range in densities associated with detecting individual metastable Helium atoms. We monitor the number of collisions as a function of the total atom number and of the amplitude of the lattice, in a regime where the number of trapped atoms per lattice site is large. In addition, we introduce a classical model of collisions that quantitatively describes the experiment without adjustable parameters. Finally, the present work validates quantitatively the assumption of a ballistic expansion when investigating the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian with a unity occupation of the lattice.

A Short Remark on Vortex as Fluid Particle from Neutrosophic Logic perspective (Towards “fluidicle” or “vorticle” model of QED.)

In a previous paper in this journal (IJNS), it is mentioned about a possible approach to re-describe QED without renormalization route. As it is known that in literature, there are some attempts to reconcile vortex-based fluid dynamics and particle dynamics. Some attempts are not quite as fruitful as others. As a follow up to previous paper, the present paper will discuss two theorems for developing unification theories, and then point out some new proposals including by Simula (2020) on how to derive Maxwell equations in superfluid dynamics setting; this could be a new alternative approach towards “fluidicle” or “vorticle” model of QED. Further research is recommended in this new direction.

Coherent vortex dynamics in a strongly interacting superfluid on a silicon chip.

Quantized vortices are fundamental to the two-dimensional dynamics of superfluids, from quantum turbulence to phase transitions. However, surface effects have prevented direct observations of coherent two-dimensional vortex dynamics in strongly interacting systems. Here, we overcome this challenge by confining a thin film of superfluid helium at microscale on the atomically smooth surface of a silicon chip. An on-chip optical microcavity allows laser initiation of clusters of quasi-two-dimensional vortices and nondestructive observation of their decay in a single shot. Coherent dynamics dominate, with thermal vortex diffusion suppressed by five orders of magnitude. This establishes an on-chip platform with which to study emergent phenomena in strongly interacting superfluids and to develop quantum technologies such as precision inertial sensors.

Postquench gap dynamics of two-band superconductors

Recent experimental progress in the fields of cold quantum gases and ultrafast optical spectroscopy of quantum materials allows to controllably induce and probe non-adiabatic dynamics of superconductors and superfluids. The time-evolution of the gap function before relaxation with the lattice is determined by the superposition of coherently evolving individual Cooper pairs within the manifold of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) wavefunction. While dynamics following an abrupt quench of the pairing interaction strength in the single-band BCS model has been exactly solved due to the integrability of the model, the dynamics of post-quench multi-band superconductors remain under scrutiny. Here, we develop a generalization of the Volkov-Kogan Laplace-space perturbative method that allows us to determine the non-adiabatic gap dynamics of two-band fully gapped superconductors for a wide range of quench amplitudes. Our approach expands the long-time dynamics around the steady-state asymptotic value of the gap, which is self-consistently determined, rather than around the equilibrium value of the gap. We explicitly demonstrate that this method recovers the exact solution of the long-time gap dynamics in the single-band case and perfectly agrees with a numerical solution of the two-band model. We discover that dephasing of Cooper pairs from different bands leads to faster collisionless relaxation of the gap oscillation with a power-law of $t^{-3/2}$ instead of the well-known $t^{-1/2}$ behavior found in the single-band case. Furthermore, the gap oscillations display beating patterns arising from the existence of two different asymptotic gap values. Our results have important implications to a variety of two-band superconductors driven out of equilibrium, such as iron-based superconductors, MgB$_{2}$, and SrTiO$_{3}$.

Layering Transition in Superfluid Helium Adsorbed on a Carbon Nanotube Mechanical Resonator.

Helium is recognized as a model system for the study of phase transitions. Of particular interest is the superfluid phase in two dimensions. We report measurements on superfluid helium films adsorbed on the surface of a suspended carbon nanotube. We measure the mechanical vibrations of the nanotube to probe the adsorbed helium film. We demonstrate the formation of helium layers up to five atoms thickness. Upon increasing the vapor pressure, we observe layer-by-layer growth with discontinuities in both the number of adsorbed atoms and the speed of the third sound in the adsorbed film. These hitherto unobserved discontinuities point to a series of first-order layering transitions. Our results show that helium multilayers adsorbed on a nanotube are of unprecedented quality compared to previous works. They pave the way to new studies of quantized superfluid vortex dynamics on cylindrical surfaces, of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in this new geometry, and perhaps also to supersolidity in crystalline single layers as predicted in quantum MonteCarlo calculations.

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of AB interface in superfluid He3

The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is well-known in classical hydrodynamics, where it explains the sudden emergence of interfacial surface waves as a function of the velocity of flow parallel to the interface. It can be carried over to the inviscid two-fluid dynamics of superfluids, to study different types of interfaces and phase boundaries in quantum fluids. We report measurements on the stability of the phase boundary separating the two bulk phases of superfluid 3He in rotating flow, while the boundary is localized with the gradient of the magnetic field to a position perpendicular to the rotation axis. The results demonstrate that the classic stability condition, when modified for the superfluid environment, is obeyed down to 0.4 Tc, if a large fraction of the magnetic polarization of the B-phase is attributed to a parabolic reduction of the interfacial surface tension with increasing magnetic field.

Gauge-invariant microscopic kinetic theory of superconductivity in response to electromagnetic fields

Within a gauge-invariant microscopic kinetic theory, we study the electromagnetic response in the superconducting states. Both superfluid and normal-fluid dynamics are involved. We predict that the normal fluid is present only when the excited superconducting velocity $v_s$ is larger than a threshold $v_L=|\Delta|/k_F$. Interestingly, with the normal fluid, we find that there exists friction between the normal-fluid and superfluid currents. Due to this friction, part of the superfluid becomes viscous. Therefore, a three-fluid model: normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids, is proposed. For the stationary magnetic response, at $v_s<v_L$ with only the non-viscous superfluid, the Meissner supercurrent is excited and the gap equation can reduce to Ginzburg-Landau equation. At $v_s{\ge}v_L$, with the normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids, in addition to the directly excited Meissner supercurrent in the superfluid, normal-fluid current is also induced through the friction drag with the viscous superfluid current. Due to the normal-fluid and viscous superfluid currents, the penetration depth is influenced by the scattering effect. In addition, a modified Ginzburg-Landau equation is proposed. We predict an exotic phase in which both the resistivity and superconducting gap are {\em finite}. As for the optical response, the excited ${v_s}$ oscillates with time. When $v_s<v_L$, only the non-viscous superfluid is present whereas at $v_s{\ge}v_L$, normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids are present. We show that the excited normal-fluid current exhibits the Drude-model behavior while the superfluid current consists of the Meissner supercurrent and Bogoliubov quasiparticle current. Due to the friction between the superfluid and normal-fluid currents, the optical conductivity is captured by the three-fluid model. ......

A versatile apparatus for fermionic lithium quantum gases based on an interference-filter laser system.

We report on the design and construction of a versatile setup for experiments with ultracold lithium (Li) gases. We discuss our methods to prepare an atomic beam and laser cool it in a Zeeman slower and a subsequent magneto-optical trap, which rely on established methods. We focus on our laser system based on a stable interference-filter-stabilized, linear-extended-cavity diode laser, so far unreported for lithium wavelengths. Moreover, we describe our optical setup to combine various laser frequencies for cooling, manipulation, and detection of Li atoms. We characterize the performance of our system preparing degenerate samples of Li atoms via forced evaporation in a hybrid crossed-beam optical-dipole trap plus confining magnetic trap. Our apparatus allows one to produce quantum gases of N ≈ 105…106 fermionic lithium-6 atoms at nanokelvin temperatures in cycle times below 10 s. Our optical system is particularly suited to study the dynamics of fermionic superfluids in engineered optical potentials.

An open source virtual laboratory for the Schrödinger equation

A simple Python-based open source software library for the numerical simulation of the linear or nonlinear time-dependent Schrödinger equation in one and two dimensions is presented. The integration is performed using a first-order split-step pseudospectral method, relying on the fast Fourier transform. The software library could be useful for undergraduate courses in elementary quantum mechanics, wave optics and computational physics. It could also be of interest for graduate students working with nonlinear waves, in frameworks such as laser beam propagation in nonlinear optical materials, matter waves within ultracold gases, dark matter or superfluid dynamics, among others. The discussion is complemented by solved examples and suggestions for educational applications of the code.

Suppressed Solitonic Cascade in Spin-Imbalanced Superfluid Fermi Gas.

Cold atoms experiments offer invaluable information on superfluid dynamics, including decay cascades of topological defects. While the cascade properties are well established for Bose systems, our understanding of their behavior in Fermi counterparts is very limited, in particular in spin-imbalanced systems, where superfluid (paired) and normal (unpaired) particles naturally coexist giving rise to complex spatial structure of the atomic cloud. Here we show, based on a newly developed microscopic approach, that the decay cascades of topological defects are dramatically modified by the spin polarization. We demonstrate that decay cascades end up at different stages: "dark soliton," "vortex ring," or "vortex line," depending on the polarization. Wereveal that it is caused by sucking of unpaired particles into the soliton's internal structure. As aconsequence vortex reconnections are hindered and we anticipate that quantum turbulence phenomenon can be significantly affected, indicating new physics induced by polarization effects.

Off-equilibrium infrared structure of self-interacting scalar fields: Universal scaling, vortex-antivortex superfluid dynamics, and Bose-Einstein condensation

We map the infrared dynamics of a relativistic single component ($N=1$) interacting scalar field theory to that of nonrelativistic complex scalar fields. The Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation, describing the real time dynamics of single component ultracold Bose gases, is obtained at first nontrivial order in an expansion proportional to the powers of $\lambda \phi^2/m^2$ where $\lambda$, $\phi$ and $m$ are the coupling constant, the scalar field and the particle mass respectively. Our analytical studies are corroborated by numerical simulations of the spatial and momentum structure of overoccupied scalar fields in (2+1)-dimensions. Universal scaling of infrared modes, vortex-antivortex superfluid dynamics and the off-equilibrium formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate are observed. Our results for the universal scaling exponents are in agreement with those extracted in the numerical simulations of the GP equation. As in these simulations, we observe coarsening phase kinetics in the Bose superfluid with strongly anomalous scaling exponents relative to that of vertex resummed kinetic theory. Our relativistic field theory framework further allows one to study more closely the coupling between superfluid and normal fluid modes, specifically the turbulent momentum and spatial structure of the coupling between a quasi-particle cascade to the infrared and an energy cascade to the ultraviolet. We outline possible applications of the formalism to the dynamics of vortex-antivortex formation and to the off-equilibrium dynamics of the strongly interacting matter formed in heavy-ion collisions.

Quantized superfluid vortex dynamics on cylindrical surfaces and planar annuli

Superfluid vortex dynamics on an infinite cylinder differs significantly from that on a plane. The requirement that a condensate wave function be single valued upon once encircling the cylinder means that such a single vortex cannot remain stationary. Instead, it acquires one of a series of quantized translational velocities around the circumference, the simplest being $\pm \hbar/(2MR)$, with $M$ the mass of the superfluid particles and $R$ the radius of the cylinder. A generalization to a finite cylinder automatically includes these quantum-mechanical effects through the pairing of the single vortex and its image in either the top or bottom end of the surface. The dynamics of a single vortex on this surface provides a hydrodynamic analog of Laughlin pumping. The interaction energy for two vortices on an infinite cylinder is proportional to the classical stream function $\chi({\bf r}_{12})$, and it crosses over from logarithmic to linear when the intervortex separation ${\bf r}_{12}$ becomes larger than the cylinder radius. An Appendix summarizes the connection to an earlier study of Ho and Huang for one or more vortices on an infinite cylinder. A second Appendix reviews the topologically equivalent planar annulus, where such quantized vortex motion has no offset, but Laughlin pumping may be more accessible to experimental observation.

Entrainment in Superfluid Neutron-Star Crusts: Hydrodynamic Description and Microscopic Origin

In spite of the absence of viscous drag, the neutron superfluid permeating the inner crust of a neutron star cannot flow freely, and is entrained by the nuclear lattice similarly to laboratory superfluid atomic gases in optical lattices. The role of entrainment on the neutron superfluid dynamics is reviewed. For this purpose, a minimal hydrodynamical model of superfluidity in neutron-star crusts is presented. This model relies on a fully four-dimensionally covariant action principle. The equivalence of this formulation with the more traditional approach is demonstrated. In addition, the different treatments of entrainment in terms of dynamical effective masses or superfluid density are clarified. The nuclear energy density functional theory employed for the calculations of all the necessary microscopic inputs is also reviewed, focusing on superfluid properties. In particular, the microscopic origin of entrainment and the different methods to estimate its importance are discussed.

First order Galilean superfluid dynamics

We study dynamics of (anomalous) Galilean superfluid up to first order in derivative expansion, both in parity-even and parity-odd sectors. We construct a relativistic system -- null superfluid, which is a null fluid (introduced in [arXiv:1509.04718]) with a spontaneously broken global $U(1)$ symmetry. A null superfluid is in one to one correspondence with Galilean superfluid in one lower dimension, i.e. they have same symmetries, thermodynamics, constitutive relations and are related to each other by a mere choice of basis. The correspondence is based on null reduction, which is known to reduce the Poincar\'{e} symmetry of a theory to Galilean symmetry in one lower dimension. To perform this analysis, we use offshell formalism of (super)fluid dynamics, adopting it appropriately to null (super)fluids.

A nonlinear Klein–Gordon equation for relativistic superfluidity

Many neutron star features can be accurately modeled only if one assumes that a significant portion of the neutron star interior is in a superfluid state and if relativitic effects are considered, and possible solutions to the underlying mathematical models include vortex solutions. It was recently shown that vorticity in relativistic superfluids can be studied under the framework of a nonlinear Klein–Gordon (NLKG) model in general curvilinear coordinates where the phase dynamics of solutions to this equation give rise to superfluidity (Xiong et al 2014 Phys. Rev. D 90 125019), and some numerical solutions were obtained. The aim of this paper will be to extract asymptotic solutions to obtain a better qualitative understanding of the possible relativistic superfluid dynamics possible under the NLKG model. We obtain asymptotic results for both spherically symmetric and cylindrically symmetric solutions, demonstrating that the solutions actually appear more regular in the relativistic regime compared to the non-relativistic limit. In fact, the asymptotic and numerical solutions actually show the best agreement in the relativistic case. We demonstrate that the relativistic effects actually tend to regularize or stabilize the solutions, relative to the non-relativistic solutions, which is an interesting finding. We then obtain a Thomas–Fermi-like perturbation result in the very large-mass limit where the kinetics become negligible relative to the self-interaction term (at leading order). We finally extend the NLKG model by assuming a curved spacetime with a metric generally used to model the space surrounding a neutron star, which is a novel generalization of the NLKG model to curved spacetime. We again obtain solutions in the large-mass limit for this case, and find that for such a spacetime non-stationary states (rather than simply stationary states) are possible in the large-mass limit.

Theory of non-Abelian superfluid dynamics

We write down a theory for non-Abelian superfluids with a partially broken (semisimple) Lie group. We adapt the offshell formalism of hydrodynamics to superfluids and use it to comment on the superfluid transport compatible with the second law of thermodynamics. We find that the second law can be also used to derive the Josephson equation, which governs dynamics of the Goldstone modes. In the course of our analysis, we derive an alternate and mutually distinct parametrization of the recently proposed classification of hydrodynamic transport and generalize it to superfluids.