Quantized vortices in superfluidHe3

Abstract

The first measurements on vortices in rotating superfluid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ have been conducted in the Low Temperature Laboratory at Helsinki University of Technology during the past five years. These experiments have revealed unique vortex phenomena that are not observed in any other known superfluids. In this review, the concept of broken symmetry is applied to investigate the quantized vortex lines in superfluid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$. In the superfluid $A$ phase, vorticity can be supported by a continuous winding of the order parameter; this gives rise to continuous "coreless" vortices with two flow quanta. Novel vortices with a half-integer number of circulation quanta may also exist in $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-$A$ due to a combined symmetry of the superfluid state. In the superfluid $B$ phase, the vortices have a complicated core structure. The vortex-core matter is ferromagnetic and superfluid, and it displays broken parity. The ferromagnetism of the core is observed in NMR experiments due to a gyromagnetic effect. The calculated core structures exhibit an experimentally observed first-order phase transition. This vortex-core transition in rotating $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-$B$ may be understood in terms of a change in the topology for flaring-out of the vortex singularity into higher dimensions; the topological identification further suggests that the phase transition manifests a spontaneous bifurcation of vorticity---involving half-quantum vortices in $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-$B$. These recent advances of interest in quantum liquids are also of general relevance to a wide range of fields beyond low-temperature physics.