2018/05/31 by Em Rickinson, E. Rickinson, N. G. Parker +3 · 8 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Circulation (fluid dynamics) #Classical mechanics #Cluster (spacecraft) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Diffusion #Dipole #Mechanics #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #Vortex #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.98.023608
published in Physical Review A 98(2) (American Physical Society) · Revised version accepted for publication in PRA; supplementary material not available in this version
arxiv created 2018/07/13 · openalex publication_date 2018/08/07 · arxiv updated 2018/08/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We determine the evolution of a cluster of quantum vortices initially placed at the center of a larger vortex-free region. We find that the cluster spreads out spatially. This spreading motion consists of two effects: the rapid evaporation of vortex dipoles from the cluster and the slow expansion of the cluster itself. The latter is akin to a diffusion process controlled by the quantum of circulation. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation show that this phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by the presence of sound waves, vortex annihilations, and boundaries, and it should be possible to create it in the laboratory.