Interactions and Reconnections of Four-Dimensional Quantum Vortices
Interactions and reconnections of vortices are fundamental in many areas of physics, including classical and quantum fluids where they are central to understanding phenomena such as turbulence. In three-dimensional (3D) superfluids, quantum vortices are one-dimensional (1D) filaments that can intersect, reconnect, and recoil with irreversible dynamics described by near-universal scaling laws. We explore quantum-vortex reconnections in a four-dimensional (4D) superfluid, where a vortex is a two-dimensional (2D) surface. Using real-time numerical simulations, we find much richer behaviour than in 3D, including stable intersecting vortex surfaces which do not reconnect, and unusual vortex reconnections which occur without significant energy dissipation, which may indicate quasi-reversible dynamics. Our work raises many interesting questions about vortex physics in extradimensional systems, and may be further extended to look at vortex dynamics and turbulence in higher-dimensional spaces.