Simulation of Quantum Field Theory and Gravity in Superfluid He-3

TL;DR

This paper explores how superfluid helium-3 can serve as a laboratory analog for complex quantum field phenomena and early universe processes, demonstrating various cosmic and particle physics analogs through defects and vortex dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces the simulation of multiple quantum field phenomena and cosmological effects using superfluid helium-3, including recent experimental observations of fermionic momentum production.

Findings

Observation of fermionic momentum production in vortex motion

Analogies between superfluid defects and cosmic strings

Potential for simulating early universe phenomena

Abstract

Superfluid phases of 3He are quantuim liquids with the interacting fermionic and bosonic fields. In many respects they can simulate the interacting quantum fields in the phyiscal vacuum. One can observe analogs of such phenomena as axial anomaly, vacuum polarization, zero-charge effect, fermionic charge of the vacuum, baryogenesis, ergoregion, vacuum instability, etc. We discuss some topics on example of several linear defects in 3He-A: (1) disgyration, which simulates the extremely massive cosmic string: (2) singular vortex, which is analogous to the spinning cosmic string; and (3) continuous vortex, which motion causes the "momentogenesis" which is the analog of baryogenesis in early Universe. The production of the fermionic momentum by the vortex motion (the counterpart of the electroweak baryogenesis) has been recently measured in Manchester experiments on rotating superfluid 3He-A and 3He-B. To simulate the other phenomena one needs rather low temperature and high homogeneity, which probably can be reached under microgravity conditions.