Generation and Dynamics of Quantized Vortices in a Unitary Fermi Superfluid

Abstract

Superfluidity and superconductivity are remarkable manifestations of quantum coherence at a macroscopic scale. The dynamics of superfluids has dominated the study of these systems for decades now, but a comprehensive theoretical framework is still lacking. We introduce a local extension of the time-dependent density functional theory to describe the dynamics of fermionic superfluids. Within this approach one can correctly represent vortex quantization, generation, and dynamics, the transition from a superfluid to a normal phase and a number of other large amplitude collective modes which are beyond the scope of two-fluid hydrodynamics, Ginzburg-Landau and/or Gross-Pitaevskii approaches. We illustrate the power of this approach by studying the generation of quantized vortices, vortex rings, vortex reconnection, and transition from a superfluid to a normal state in real time for a unitary Fermi gas. We predict the emergence of a new qualitative phenomenon in superfluid dynamics of gases, the existence of stable superfluidity when the systems are stirred with velocities significantly exceeding the nominal Landau critical velocity in these systems.