Universal vortex formation in rotating traps with bosons and fermions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that rotating trapped particles with repulsive interactions form vortices through a universal mechanism, applicable to both bosons and fermions, supported by exact quantum wave functions.

Contribution

It reveals a universal vortex formation mechanism in rotating quantum systems, regardless of particle statistics, using exact many-particle wave functions.

Findings

Vortex formation occurs in both bosonic and fermionic systems under rotation.

The mechanism of vortex formation is identical for bosons and fermions.

Exact quantum wave functions confirm the universality of vortex formation.

Abstract

When a system consisting of many interacting particles is set rotating, it may form vortices. This is familiar to us from every-day life: you can observe vortices while stirring your coffee or watching a hurricane. In the world of quantum mechanics, famous examples of vortices are superconducting films and rotating bosonic $^4$He or fermionic $^3$He liquids. Vortices are also observed in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in atomic traps and are predicted to exist for paired fermionic atoms. Here we show that the rotation of trapped particles with a repulsive interaction leads to a similar vortex formation, regardless of whether the particles are bosons or (unpaired) fermions. The exact, quantum mechanical many-particle wave function provides evidence that in fact, the mechanism of this vortex formation is the same for boson and fermion systems.