S. Kumar Mallavarapu

From a complex scalar field to the two-fluid picture of superfluidity

The hydrodynamic description of a superfluid is usually based on a two-fluid picture. We compute the basic properties of the relativistic two-fluid system from the underlying microscopic physics of a relativistic \varphi^4 complex scalar field theory. We work at nonzero but small temperature and weak coupling, and we neglect dissipation. We clarify the relationship between different formulations of the two-fluid model, and how they are parameterized in terms of partly redundant current and momentum 4-vectors. As an application, we compute the velocities of first and second sound at small temperatures and in the presence of a superflow. While our results are of a very general nature, we also comment on their interpretation as a step towards the hydrodynamics of the color-flavor locked state of quark matter, which, in particular in the presence of kaon condensation, appears to be a complicated multi-component fluid.

Role reversal in first and second sound in a relativistic superfluid

Relativistic superfluidity at arbitrary temperature, chemical potential and (uniform) superflow is discussed within a self-consistent field-theoretical approach. Our starting point is a complex scalar field with a

Vortex structure in superfluid color-flavor locked quark matter

\varphi^4

From field theory to superfluid hydrodynamics of dense quark matter

interaction, for which we calculate the 2-particle-irreducible effective action in the Hartree approximation. With this underlying microscopic theory, we can obtain the two-fluid picture of a superfluid, and compute properties such as the superfluid density and the entrainment coefficient for all temperatures below the critical temperature for superfluidity. We compute the critical velocity, taking into account the full self-consistent effect of the temperature and superflow on the quasiparticle dispersion. We also discuss first and second sound modes and how first (second) sound evolves from a density (temperature) wave at low temperatures to a temperature (density) wave at high temperatures. This role reversal is investigated for ultra-relativistic and near-non-relativistic systems for zero and nonzero superflow. For nonzero superflow, we also observe a role reversal as a function of the direction of the sound wave.

Superfluid vortices in dense quark matter

The core region of a neutron star may feature quark matter in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase. The CFL condensate breaks the baryon number symmetry, such that the phenomenon of superfluidity arises. If the core of the star is rotating, vortices will form in the superfluid, carrying the quanta of angular momentum. In a previous study we have solved the question of stability of these vortices, where we found numerical proof of a conjectured instability, according to which superfluid vortices will decay into an arrangement of so-called semi-superfluid fluxtubes. Here we report first results of an extension of our framework that allows us to study multi-vortex dynamics. This will in turn enable us to investigate the structure of semi-superfluid string lattices, which could be relevant to study pinning phenomena at the boundary of the core.