Inertial effects in superfluid vortex dynamics

Giorno 24 giugno 2025, con inizio alle ore 14:00, presso l’Aula T del Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Ettore Majorana” dell’Università di Catania, su invito del Prof. G. Falci, il Dott. Andrea Richaud (UPC, Spain) terrà un seminario dal titolo Inertial effects in superfluid vortex dynamics.

Tutte le persone interessate sono invitate a partecipare.

Abstract. In quantum matter, vortices are topological excitations with quantized circulation. They are often pictured as funnel-like holes where the superfluid density vanishes and the fluid swirls around. This simple view has recently been challenged. In many systems, vortex cores are not empty: thermal atoms, quasiparticles, or tracer atoms can accumulate in them, giving vortices an effective inertial mass. In this talk, I will explore the dynamics of point-like vortices with massive cores in quasi-2D quantum fluids. Adding core mass to the standard dynamical model represents a singular perturbation, changing the order of the motion equations and enabling new dynamical regimes. For example, while a massless vortex in a disk-like superfluid sample only precesses, a massive one can also undergo radial oscillations, the unambiguous signature of inertial effects. I will also show that, unlike massless vortices, massive ones can collide, leading to vortex/antivortex annihilation or the formation of doubly charged vortices. Finally, I will discuss how vortices in Fermi superfluids naturally acquire an intrinsic inertial mass from the normal component localized in their cores. 

References:

A. Richaud, V. Penna, R. Mayol, M. Guilleumas, Phys. Rev. A 101, 013630 (2020)

A. Richaud, V. Penna, A. L. Fetter, Phys. Rev. A 103, 023311 (2021)

A. Richaud, G. Lamporesi, M. Capone, A. Recati, Phys. Rev. A 107, 053317 (2023)

A. Richaud, M. Caldara, M. Capone, P. Massignan, G. Wlazłowski, arXiv:2410.12417