Dynamical signature of vortex mass in Fermi superfluids

Scenario considered in the paper: superfluid (blue) confined in a disk-like trap and hosting an off-centered vortex whose core is filled by a normal component (orange).

A. Richaud, M. Caldara, M. Capone, P. Massignan, G. Wlazłowski
Dynamical signature of vortex mass in Fermi superfluids,
[arXiv:2410.12417].
Data underlying this study are accessible via Zenodo repository, record 13359628.

Here, we show that, in Fermi superfluids, the normal component confined in the vortex core provides the vortex with a finite inertial mass. This inertia imparts an unambiguous signature to the dynamic behavior of vortices, specifically manifesting as small-amplitude transverse oscillations, which remarkably follow the prediction of a simple point-like model supplemented by an effective mass. We demonstrate this phenomenon through large-scale time-dependent simulations of Fermi superfluids, via the W-SLDA Toolkit, across a wide range of interaction parameters at both zero and finite temperatures and for various initial conditions. Our findings pave the way for exploring inertial effects in superfluid vortex dynamics.