2001/10/31 by Uwe R. Fischer, Matt Visser
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.88.110201
published as Phys.Rev.Lett. 88 (2002) 110201 · 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTex4. Discussion of focal length added; to appear in Physical Review Letters
arxiv created 2002/02/07 · openalex publication_date 2002/03/04 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We consider acoustic propagation in an irrotational vortex, using the technical machinery of differential geometry to investigate the "acoustic geometry" that is probed by the sound waves. The acoustic space-time curvature of a constant circulation hydrodynamical vortex leads to deflection of phonons at appreciable distances from the vortex core. The scattering angle for phonon rays is shown to be quadratic in the small quantity Gamma/2pi(cb), where Gamma is the vortex circulation, c the speed of sound, and b the impact parameter.