Interaction between active particles and quantum vortices leading to Kelvin wave generation

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-03, Vol.9 (1), p.4839, Article 4839
• Main Authors: Giuriato, Umberto, Krstulovic, Giorgio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/766/119/999; 639/766/189; 639/766/530; Condensed Matter; Humanities and Social Sciences; Low temperature; multidisciplinary; Physics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sciences of the Universe; Vortices
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39877-w

One of the main features of superfluids is the presence of topological defects with quantised circulation. These objects are known as quantum vortices and exhibit a hydrodynamic behaviour. Nowadays, particles are the main experimental tool used to visualise quantum vortices and to study their dynamics. We use a self-consistent model based on the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation to explore theoretically and numerically the attractive interaction between particles and quantized vortices at very low temperature. Particles are described as localised potentials depleting the superfluid and following Newtonian dynamics. We are able to derive analytically a reduced central-force model that only depends on the classical degrees of freedom of the particle. Such model is found to be consistent with the GP simulations. We then generalised the model to include deformations of the vortex filament. The resulting long-range mutual interaction qualitatively reproduces the observed generation of a cusp on the vortex filament during the particle approach. Moreover, we show that particles can excite Kelvin waves on the vortex filament through a resonance mechanism even if they are still far from it.