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Equation of motion of a quantum vortex

University of British Columbia

Quantum vortices are an important excitation in a wide variety of systems. They are a basic ingredient in our understanding of superfluids and superconductors --- indeed, the very definition of these phases relies heavily on the existence of quantum vortices. Despite this, the equation of motion of a quantum vortex remains controversial. In this thesis, we derive the two dimensional equation of motion of a vortex in superfluid helium, and also discuss adapting our derivation for a vortex in a ferromagnet dot. In addition to the undisputed superfluid Magnus force and vortex inertia, we derive the controversial Iordanskii force, a pair of memory forces, and the associated fluctuating force. The memory forces include a generalization of the usual longitudinal damping force, a frequency dependent inertial force, and a higher order, frequency dependent correction to the Iordanskii force. We quantify the slow limit in which these forces become local or frequency independent. In a superfluid, the motion is frequency dependent, manifest primarily through a suppression of the damping rate of the vortex motion. Magnetic vortex motion is typically at much lower frequencies and the memory effects can so far be ignored. Our analysis involves a careful separation of vortex and quasiparticle degrees of freedom. We prove definitively that there are no interactions that are first order in quasiparticle variables: therefore, all resulting forces on the vortex resulting from interactions with the quasiparticles are temperature-dependent. We calculate the vortex influence functional resulting from a velocity-dependent quadratic coupling with perturbed quasiparticles that have already been perturbed by the presence of the static vortex. From the vortex influence functional and the bare vortex action, we derive the full quantum equation of motion of a vortex. We relate our arguments and results to the wealth of ideas presented in the superfluid and magnetic literature. We discuss extensions of this work: on including normal fluid viscosity, dynamics of a multiple vortex configuration, to a finite system, and to a three-dimensional system.

Text

2011-06-30

Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30460

Physics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/