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At least 577 records · Page 32

Properties of vortex beams formed by an array of fibre lasers and their propagation in a turbulent atmosphere

Using a numerical simulation, we investigate the possibility of synthesising vortex laser beams with a variable orbital angular momentum by a hexagonal array of fibre lasers under a phase control of individual subapertures of the array. We report the requirements to the parameters of the device generating a vortex beam (number and size of subapertures, as well as their mutual arrangement). The propagation dynamics of synthesised vortex beams is compared with that of conventional Laguerre–Gaussian beams in free space and in a turbulent atmosphere. The spectral properties of the synthesised beam, represented as a superposition of different azimuthal modes, are determined during its propagation in free space. The energy and statistical parameters of the synthesised and Laguerre–Gaussian vortex beams are shown to coincide with increasing propagation distance in a turbulent medium. (laser beams)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Chaotic vortex filaments in a Bose – Einstein condensate and in superfluid helium

A statement of the quantum turbulence problem in both a Bose – Einstein condensate (BEC) and superfluid helium is formulated. In superfluid helium use is made of a so-called vortex filament method, in which quantum vortices are represented by string-like objects, i.e. vortex lines. The dynamics of the vortex lines is determined by deterministic equations of motion, supplemented by random reconnections. Unlike He II, the laws of the dynamics of quantum vortices in BEC are based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This makes it possible to obtain a microscopic description of the collision of vortices, the structure of a vortex filament, etc. A comparative analysis of these complementary approaches is carried out. It is shown that there are some features that do not automatically transfer the results obtained for BEC to vortices in He II and vice versa. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Instabilities of a vortex-ring-bright soliton in trapped binary three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates

Instabilities of vortex-ring-bright coherent structures in harmonically trapped two-component three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates are studied numerically within the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations and interpreted analytically. Interestingly, the filled vortex core with a sufficiently large amount of the bright component is observed to reduce the parametric interval of stability of the vortex ring. Here, we have identified the mechanisms of several linear instabilities and one nonlinear parametric instability in this connection. Two of the linear instabilities are qualitatively different from ones reported earlier and are associated with azimuthal modes of m = 0 and m = 1, i.e., deviations of the vortex from the stationary ring shape. Our nonlinear parametric resonance instability occurs between the m = 0 and m = 2 modes and signals the exchange of energy between them.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Rotating superfluids in anharmonic traps: From vortex lattices to giant vortices

We study a superfluid in a rotating anharmonic trap and explicate a rigorous proof of a transition from a vortex lattice to a giant vortex state as the rotation is increased beyond a limiting speed determined by the interaction strength. The transition is characterized by the disappearance of the vortices from the annulus where the bulk of the superfluid is concentrated due to centrifugal forces while a macroscopic phase circulation remains. The analysis is carried out within two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii theory at large coupling constant and reveals significant differences between ''soft'' anharmonic traps (like a quartic plus quadratic trapping potential) and traps with a fixed boundary: in the latter case the transition takes place in a parameter regime where the size of vortices is very small relative to the width of the annulus, whereas in soft traps the vortex lattice persists until the width of the annulus becomes comparable to the vortex cores. Moreover, the density profile in the annulus where the bulk is concentrated is, in the soft case, approximately Gaussian with long tails and not of the Thomas-Fermi type like in a trap with a fixed boundary.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Vortex formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a rotating deep optical lattice

We study the dynamics of vortex nucleation and lattice formation in a Bose-Einstein condensate in a rotating square optical lattice by numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Different dynamical regimes of vortex nucleation are found, depending on the depth and period of the optical lattice. We make an extensive comparison with the experiments by R. A. Williams et al.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 050404 (2010)], especially focusing on the issues of the critical rotation frequency for the first vortex nucleation and the vortex number as a function of rotation frequency.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Bifurcation and stability of single and multiple vortex rings in three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates

Here, we investigate how single- and multi-vortex-ring states can emerge from a planar dark soliton in three-dimensional (3D) Bose-Einstein condensates (confined in isotropic or anisotropic traps) through bifurcations. We characterize such bifurcations quantitatively using a Galerkin-type approach and find good qualitative and quantitative agreement with our Bogoliubov–de Gennes (BdG) analysis. We also systematically characterize the BdG spectrum of the dark solitons, using perturbation theory, and obtain a quantitative match with our 3D BdG numerical calculations. We then turn our attention to the emergence of single- and multi-vortex-ring states. We systematically capture these as stationary states of the system and quantify their BdG spectra numerically. We found that although the vortex ring may be unstable when bifurcating, its instabilities weaken and may even eventually disappear for sufficiently large chemical potentials and suitable trap settings. For instance, we demonstrate the stability of the vortex ring for an isotropic trap in the large-chemical-potential regime.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Stochastic Dynamics of a Ferromagnetic Vortex Revealed by Single-Spin Magnetometry

We study the dynamics of a magnetic vortex in a permalloy disk, as it is switched between bistable pinning sites in the presence of room-temperature thermal noise. We use static and time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr-effect microscopy to characterize the equilibrium and nonequilibrium motion of the vortex in response to a train of magnetic field pulses. The limitations of this approach due to inhomogeneous averaging are overcome by using a proximal nitrogen-vacancy spin in diamond to probe the final position of the vortex core following a single magnetic field pulse. Repeating this single-shot measurement, we characterize the probability of switching between two bistable pinning sites as a function of pulse time. Here, we develop a simple model of the stochastic vortex trajectory through the pinning sites’ basins of attraction to understand how the separate contributions of damping and dephasing result in the observed switching behavior.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Imaging anisotropic vortex dynamics in FeSe

Strong vortex pinning in FeSe could be useful for technological applications and could provide clues about the coexistence of superconductivity and nematicity. To characterize the pinning of individual, isolated vortices, we simultaneously apply a local magnetic field and image the vortex motion with scanning SQUID susceptibility. We find that the pinning is highly anisotropic: the vortices move easily along directions that are parallel to the orientations of twin domain walls and pin strongly in a perpendicular direction. These results are consistent with a scenario in which the anisotropy arises from vortex pinning on domain walls and quantify the dynamics of individual vortex pinning in FeSe.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of Ni doping on vortex pinning in CaK ( F e 1 - x N i x ) 4 A s 4 single crystals

We study the correlation between chemical composition and vortex dynamics in Ni-doped CaK(Fe 1–x Ni x ) 4 As 4 (x = 0, 0.015, 0.025, 0.03, and 0.05) single crystals by performing measurements of the critical current densities J c and the flux creep rates S . The magnetic relaxation of all the crystals is well described by the collective creep theory. The samples display a glassy exponent μ within the predictions for vortex bundles in a weak pinning scenario and relatively small characteristic pinning energy ( U 0 < 100K). The undoped crystals display modest J c values at low temperatures and high magnetic fields applied along the c axis. J c ( T ) dependences at high fields display an unusual peak. The enhancement in J c ( T ) matches with an increase in U 0 and the appearance of a second peak in the magnetization. As Ni doping increases, whereas there is a monotonic decrease in T c there is a nonmonotonic change in J c . Initially J c increases, reaching a maximum value for x = 0.015, and then J c decreases for x ≥ 0.025. This change in J c ( x ) is coincident with the onset of antiferromagnetic order. The magnetic field dependence of J c ( H ) also manifests a change in behavior between these x values. The analysis of the vortex dynamics for small and intermediate magnetic fields shows a gradual evolution in the glassy exponent μ with Ni content, x . As a result, this implies that there is no appreciable change in the mechanism that determines the vortex relaxation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Controllable vortex shedding from dissipative exchange flows in ferromagnetic channels

Ferromagnetic channels subject to spin injection at one extremum sustain long-range coherent textures that carry spin currents known as dissipative exchange flows (DEFs). In the weak injection regime, spin currents carried by DEFs decay algebraically and extend through the length of the channel, a regime known as spin superfluidity. Similar to fluids, these structures are prone to phase slips that manifest as vortex-antivortex pairs. In this work, we numerically study vortex shedding from DEFs excited in a magnetic nanowire with a physical obstacle. Using micromagnetic simulations, we find regimes of laminar flow and vortex shedding as a function of obstacle position tunable by the spin injection sign and magnitude. Vortex-antivortex pairs translate forward (VF regime) or backward (VB regime) with respect to the detector's extremum, resulting in well-defined spectral features. Qualitatively similar results are obtained when temperature, anisotropy, and weak nonlocal dipole fields are included in the simulations. These results provide clear features associated with DEFs that may be detected experimentally in devices with nominally identical boundary conditions. Furthermore, our results suggest that obstacles can be considered as DEF control gates, opening an avenue to manipulate DEFs via physical defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Giant microwave absorption in the vortex lattice in s -wave superconductors

In this article we study microwave absorption in superconductors in the presence of a vortex lattice. Here, we show that in addition to the conventional absorption mechanism associated with the vortex core motion, there is another mechanism of microwave absorption, which is caused by the time dependence of the quasiparticle density of states outside the vortex cores. This mechanism exists even in the absence of vortex motion. It provides the dominant contribution to microwave absorption at sufficiently small magnetic fields. At low frequencies, the dissipative part of the microwave conductivity σ⁡(ω) is proportional to the inelastic relaxation time τ in , which is typically much larger than the elastic relaxation time τ el . At high frequencies σ⁡(ω) is proportional to the quasiparticle diffusion time across the intervortex distance τ D , which is still larger than τ el .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Influence of disorder on antidot vortex Majorana states in three-dimensional topological insulators

Topological insulator/superconductor two-dimensional heterostructures are promising candidates for realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana modes. In these systems, a vortex pinned by a prefabricated antidot in the superconductor can host Majorana zero-energy modes (MZMs), which are exotic quasiparticles that may enable quantum information processing. However, a major challenge is to design devices that can manipulate the information encoded in these MZMs. One of the key factors is to create small and clean antidots, so the MZMs, localized in the vortex core, have a large gap to other excitations. If the antidot is too large or too disordered, the level spacing for the subgap vortex states may become smaller than temperature. In this paper, we numerically investigate the effects of disorder, chemical potential, and antidot size on the subgap vortex spectrum, using a two-dimensional effective model of the topological insulator surface. Our model allows us to simulate large system sizes with vortices up to 1.8 µ⁢m in diameter (with a 6 nm lattice constant). We also compare our disorder model with the transport data from existing experiments. As a result, we find that the spectral gap can exhibit a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of disorder strength, and that it can be tuned by applying a gate voltage.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Creep-enhanced vortex pinning revealed through nonmonotonic relaxation of the Campbell length

Here, we study the effects of flux creep on the linear AC response of the vortex lattice in single crystals Ca 3 ⁢Ir 4 ⁢Sn 13 by measuring the Campbell penetration depth, 𝜆 C ⁡(𝑇,𝐻,𝑡) . Thermal fluctuations release vortices from shallow pinning sites, only for them to become re-trapped by deeper potential wells, causing an initial increase of the effective Labusch parameter, which is proportional to the pinning well curvature. This effect cannot be detected in conventional magnetic relaxation measurements but is revealed by our observation of a nonmonotonic time evolution of 𝜆 C ⁡(𝑇,𝐻,𝑡) , which directly probes the average curvature of the occupied pinning centers. The time evolution of 𝜆 C ⁡(𝑇,𝐻,𝑡) was measured at different temperatures in samples with different densities of pinning centers produced by electron irradiation. The curves can be collapsed together when plotted on a logarithmic time scale 𝑡 → 𝑇 ⁢ln ⁡(𝑡/𝑡 0 ) confirming that the time evolution is driven by flux creep. The 𝜆 C ⁡(𝑇,𝐻,𝑡) is hysteretic with a noticeable nonmonotonic relaxation in the presence of a vortex density gradient (after zero-field cooling), but is monotonic after field cooling, where the vortex density is uniform. This result quantitatively corroborates the novel picture of vortex creep based on the strong pinning theory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Local spin-density-wave order inside vortex cores in multiband superconductors

Coexistence of antiferromagnetic order with superconductivity in many families of newly discovered iron-based superconductors has renewed interest to this old problem. Due to competition between the two types of order, one can expect appearance of the antiferromagnetism inside the cores of the vortices generated by the external magnetic field. The structure of a vortex in type II superconductors holds significant importance from the theoretical and the application points of view. In this paper, we consider the internal vortex structure in a two-band s± superconductor near a spin-density-wave instability. We treat the problem in a completely self-consistent manner within the quasiclassical Eilenberger formalism. We study the structure of the s± superconducting order and magnetic field-induced spin-density-wave order near an isolated vortex. Finally, we examine the effect of this spin-density-wave state inside the vortex cores on the local density of states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Field dependence of the vortex core size probed by scanning tunneling microscopy

We study the spatial distribution of the density of states (DOS) at zero bias N(r) in the mixed state of single and multigap superconductors. We provide an analytic expression for N(r) based on deGennes' relationship between DOS and the order parameter that reproduces well scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) data in several superconducting materials. In the single gap superconductor β-Bi 2 Pd, we find that N(r) is governed by a length scale ξ H = $\sqrt{Φ0/2πH}$ which decreases in rising fields. The vortex core size $C$ ∝ (d Δ/dr| r→0 ) ₋1 differs from ξ H by a material dependent numerical factor. The new data on the tunneling conductance and vortex lattice of the 2H-NbSe 1.8 S 0.2 show the in-plane isotropic vortices, suggesting that substitutional scattering removes the in-plane anisotropy found in the two-gap superconductor 2H-NbSe 2 . We fit the tunneling conductance of 2H-NbSe 1.8 S 0.2 to a two gap model and calculate the vortex core size $C$ for each band. We find that $C$ is field independent and has the same value for both bands. We also analyze the two-band superconductor 2H-NbSe 2 and find the same result. Lastly, we conclude that, independently of the magnetic field induced variation of the order parameter values in both bands, the spatial variation of the order parameter close to the vortex core is the same for all bands.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

History-dependent dissipative vortex dynamics in superconducting arrays

In this study, we perform current (I)-voltage (V) measurements on low resistance superconductor-normal-superconductor arrays in finite magnetic fields, focusing on the dilute vortex population regime. We observe significant deviations from predicted behavior, notably the absence of a differential resistance peak near the vortex depinning current, and a broad linear I-V region with an extrapolated I intercept equal to the depinning current. Comparing these results to an overdamped molecular vortex model, we find that this behavior can be explained by the presence of a history-dependent dissipative force. Lastly, this approach has not been considered previously, to our knowledge, yet it is crucial for obtaining a correct description of the vortex dynamics in superconducting arrays.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetic-field-induced vortex-lattice transition in HgBa 2 CuO 4 + δ

Measurements of the 17 O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quadrupolar spectrum of apical oxygen in HgBa 2 CuO 4+δ were performed over a range of magnetic fields from 6.4–30 T in the superconducting state. Oxygen-isotope-exchanged single crystals were investigated with doping corresponding to superconducting transition temperatures from 74 K underdoped, to 78 K overdoped. The apical oxygen site was chosen since its NMR spectrum has narrow quadrupolar satellites that are well separated from any other resonance. Nonvortex contributions to the spectra can be deconvolved in the time domain to determine the local magnetic field distribution from the vortices. Numerical analysis using Brandt's Ginzburg-Landau theory was used to find structural parameters of the vortex lattice, penetration depth, and coherence length as a function of magnetic field in the vortex solid phase. From this analysis we report a vortex structural transition near 15 T from an oblique lattice with an opening angle of 73° at low magnetic fields to a triangular lattice with 60° stabilized at high field. The temperature for onset of vortex dynamics has been identified from spin-spin relaxation. This is independent of the magnetic field at sufficiently high magnetic field similar to that reported for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ and is correlated with mass anisotropy of the material. Here, this behavior is accounted for theoretically only in the limit of very high anisotropy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗