Quantized Vorticity in Superfluid 3He-A

Abstract

Superfluid 3He-A displays the largest variety in vortex structure among the presently known coherent quantum systems. The experimentally verified information comes mostly from NMR measurements on the rotating fluid, from which the order-parameter texture can often be worked out. The various vortex structures differ in the topology of their order-parameter field, in energy, critical velocity, and in their response to temporal variations in the externally applied flow. They require different experimental conditions for their creation. When the flow is applied in the superfluid state, the structure with the lowest critical velocity is formed. In 3He-A this leads to the various forms of continuous (or singularity-free) vorticity. Which particular structure is created depends on the externally applied conditions and on the global order-parameter texture.