Quantum solids, liquids, and gases program:Vortex Clusters in Condensates

by Dr Ari Turner (University of California Berkeley)

Friday 6 Aug 2010, 13:45 → 14:45 Europe/Stockholm

Superfluids made from atoms with spins can form many different types of vortices, unlike superfluid helium, which can support only ordinary vortices. Ordinary vortices are surrounded by a stable flow of atoms; the additional types of vortices also are wreathed by spin patterns. The more symmetry the condensate has, the greater the variety of vortices. An imperfection in the symmetry causes some of types vortices to form molecules, according to the laws of ``vortex chemistry." I will explain two applications: one application predict metastable vortex molecules; the other predicts Newtonian physics (instead of Magnus force dynamics) for a spin-current vortex.