From Planar Solitons to Vortex Rings and Lines: Cascade of Solitonic Excitations in a Superfluid Fermi Gas

TL;DR

This study observes the dynamic transformation of solitonic excitations in a superfluid Fermi gas, revealing complex decay processes and structures that challenge existing hydrodynamic models.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental visualization of the cascade from planar solitons to vortex rings and lines in a superfluid Fermi gas, highlighting dynamics beyond traditional hydrodynamics.

Findings

Observation of soliton decay into vortex rings and lines

Identification of an exotic $\

structure resembling the $\

Abstract

We follow the time evolution of a superfluid Fermi gas of resonantly interacting $^6$Li atoms after a phase imprint. Via tomographic imaging, we observe the formation of a planar dark soliton, its subsequent snaking, and its decay into a vortex ring, which in turn breaks to finally leave behind a single solitonic vortex. In intermediate stages we find evidence for an exotic structure resembling the $\Phi$-soliton, a combination of a vortex ring and a vortex line. Direct imaging of the nodal surface reveals its undulation dynamics and its decay via the puncture of the initial soliton plane. The observed evolution of the nodal surface represents dynamics beyond superfluid hydrodynamics, calling for a microscopic description of unitary fermionic superfluids out of equilibrium.