Vortex arrays in a rotating superfluid He-4 nanocylinder

TL;DR

This paper uses Density Functional theory to analyze vortex structures in rotating superfluid helium-4 nanocylinders, comparing results with classical models and experimental data, and exploring impurity interactions along vortex lines.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical study of vortex arrays in superfluid helium-4 nanocylinders, including stability analysis and impurity interactions, bridging microscopic modeling with experimental observations.

Findings

Stability diagram of vortex structures in nanocylinders.

Comparison with classical inviscid fluid models.

Insights into impurity chain formation along vortices.

Abstract

Within Density Functional theory, we investigate stationary many-vortex structures in a rotating $^4$He nanocylinder at zero temperature. We compute the stability diagram and compare our results with the classical model of vortical lines in an inviscid and incompressible fluid. Scaling the results to millimeter-size buckets, they can be compared with experiments on vortex arrays conducted in the past. Motivated by recent experiments that have used atomic impurities as a means of visualizing vortices in superfluid $^4$He droplets, we have also considered the formation of chains of xenon atoms along a vortex line and the interaction between xenon atoms inside the same vortex and on different neighboring vortex lines.