Interactions and Reconnections of Four-Dimensional Quantum Vortices

Middleton-Spencer, H. A. J., McCanna, B., Proment, D. and Price, H. M. (2024) Interactions and Reconnections of Four-Dimensional Quantum Vortices.

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Abstract

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, suggesting quasi-reversible dynamics. Our work raises many interesting questions about vortex physics in extra-dimensional systems, and may be extended in the future to more realistic experimental settings where the fourth dimension is simulated with techniques such as synthetic dimensions.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	8 pages, 4 figures
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cond-mat.quant-gas
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Quantum Matter
Related URLs:	https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.07943v2
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2026 16:38
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2026 16:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101851
DOI:

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