Damping of vortex waves in a superfluid

Abstract

The damping of vortex cyclotron modes is investigated within a generalized quantum theory of vortex waves. Similarly to the case of Kelvin modes, the friction coefficient turns out to be essentially unchanged under such oscillations, but it is shown to be affected by appreciable memory corrections. On the other hand, the non-equilibrium dynamics of the vortex energy, which is investigated within the framework of linear response theory, shows that its memory corrections are negligible. The vortex response is found to be of the Debye type, with a relaxation frequency whose dependence on temperature and impurity concentration reflects the complexity of the heat bath and its interaction with the vortex. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.