Half-Quantum Vortices in Nematic and Chiral Phases of $^3$He
Abstract
We report theoretical results for the stability of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the superfluid phases of He confined in highly anisotropic Nafen aerogel. Superfluidity of He confined in Nafen is the realization of a "nematic superfluid" with Cooper pairs condensed into a single p-wave orbital aligned along the anisotropy axis of the Nafen aerogel. In addition to the nematic phase, we predict a second "chiral" phase that onsets at a lower transition temperature. This chiral phase spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry and is a topological superfluid. Both superfluid phases are equal-spin pairing condensates that host arrays of HQVs as equilibrium states of rotating superfluid He. We present results for the structure of HQVs, including magnetic and topological signatures of HQVs in both the nematic and chiral phases of He-Nafen.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2105.01257,
title = {Half-Quantum Vortices in Nematic and Chiral Phases of $^3$He},
author = {Robert C. Regan and Joshua J. Wiman and J. A. Sauls},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.01257},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
8 pages, 4 figures