Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

UC Davis

UC Davis Previously Published Works bannerUC Davis

Sixty Years of Quantized Circulation

Published Web Location

https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.15528
No data is associated with this publication.
Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
Abstract

Vinen’s vibrating wire experiment detected quantized vortices in superfluid 4He, with the anticipated circulation quantum h/m. In addition to this main result, Vinen used his data to propose other properties and behaviors of vortices, which are revisited here. Subsequent work confirmed that non-quantized values occur when vortices cover only part of the wire’s length and that the size of the covered section can change easily. Any motion of the detached portion of the vortex induces changes in the circulation around the wire, which provides a means of tracking the free vortex. Particularly distinctive signatures correspond to a circular motion of the vortex through the cell and to Kelvin waves along the free vortex. Another issue, the lack of stability of multi-quantum states, can also be explained through simple arguments, in which the possibility of a partially detached vortex again plays a key role. Vibrating wire measurements descended from Vinen’s continue to probe superfluid flows.

Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.

Item not freely available? Link broken?
Report a problem accessing this item