Comment on Vortex Mass and Quantum Tunneling of Vortices

TL;DR

This paper discusses how fermion zero modes and gap nodes in superfluids and superconductors significantly enhance vortex mass, affecting quantum tunneling, with implications for understanding vortex dynamics in these systems.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of vortex mass enhancement due to fermion zero modes and gap nodes, highlighting their impact on quantum tunneling in superfluids and superconductors.

Findings

Vortex mass is increased by fermion zero modes in the vortex core.

Normal component trapped by the vortex contributes to its inertial mass.

In d-wave superconductors, vortex mass is further enhanced by a factor related to gap nodes.

Abstract

Vortex mass in Fermi superfluids and superconductors and its influence on quantum tunneling of vortices are discussed. The vortex mass is essentially enhanced due to the fermion zero modes in the core of the vortex: the bound states of the Bogoliubov qiasiparticles localized in the core. These bound states form the normal component which is nonzero even in the low temperature limit. In the collisionless regime $\omega_0\tau \gg 1$, the normal component trapped by the vortex is unbound from the normal component in the bulk superfluid/superconductors and adds to the inertial mass of the moving vortex. In the d-wave superconductors, the vortex mass has an additional factor $(B_{c2}/B)^{1/2}$ due to the gap nodes.