# Critical angular velocity for vortex lines formation

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a model for the critical angular velocity at which vortex lines form in superfluid helium II, linking vortex formation to quasi-particle gas dynamics and thermodynamic phase transition concepts.

## Contribution

It introduces a new theoretical approach connecting vortex formation in superfluid helium to quasi-particle gas behavior and thermodynamic principles, predicting temperature-dependent critical velocities.

## Key findings

- Critical angular velocity depends on temperature.
- Latent heat influences vortex formation threshold.
- Discontinuous angular momentum change occurs at vortex nucleation.

## Abstract

For helium II inside a rotating cylinder, it is proposed that the formation of vortex lines of the frictionless superfluid component of the liquid is caused by the presence of the rotating quasi-particles gas. By minimising the free energy of the system, the critical value Omega_0 of the angular velocity for the formation of the first vortex line is determined. This value nontrivially depends on the temperature, and numerical estimations of its temperature behaviour are produced. It is shown that the latent heat for a vortex formation and the associated discontinuous change in the angular momentum of the quasi-particles gas determine the slope of Omega_0 (T) via some kind of Clapeyron equation.