Unveiling the universal mechanism for vortex shedding in quantum fluids

A new paper by researchers at GSSI and University of Salerno, published in Physical Review Letters , reveals the universal mechanism behind vortex shedding in quantum fluids.

Superfluids are famous for flowing without friction, but that perfect flow can fail when the fluid moves past an obstacle fast enough. It then begins to shed quantum vortices: tiny whirlpools governed by the rules of quantum mechanics. Unlike the eddies in ordinary fluids, these whirlpools can only spin in specific, fixed amounts. Although they are microscopic, their appearance marks the moment when a superfluid begins to lose its perfectly frictionless flow.

Until now, scientists did not fully understand what triggers this transition. It was often assumed to resemble the way vortices form in ordinary fluids, such as water flowing around a rock. The new study – authored by Niccolò Geracitano and Francesco Viola (GSSI), Paolo Luchini and Vincenzo Citro (University of Salerno) – shows that the quantum case follows a fundamentally different process. Instead of starting gradually, vortex shedding begins at a tipping point: the flow slows near a hidden bottleneck before suddenly releasing vortices in distinct bursts.

Contenuto segnalato automaticamente dalla fonte ufficiale: GSSI — News ed eventi. Il testo integrale è disponibile sul sito dell'ateneo.