Vortices in Nonlinear Fields


Book Description

Symmetry breaking is partially responsible for the astounding variety of natural phenomena derived from a few simple and symmetric basic laws. Unique in its multidisciplinary scope, this book considers from a unified point of view the structure and dynamics of vortices in a variety of nonlinear field models with spontaneously broken symmetry. The theory has wide applications, including superfluids, superconductors, rotating spiral waves, and relativistic string theories. This volume is an integrated survey of this rapidly developing field.




Linear and Nonlinear Aspects of Vortices


Book Description

Aimed at mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and grad students, this monograph will be useful for the nonlinear analysis of problems arising in geometry or mathematical physics. The material presented covers recent and original results by the authors, and serves as an excellent classroom text or a valuable self-study resource.




Vortices in the Magnetic Ginzburg-Landau Model


Book Description

This book presents the mathematical study of vortices of the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model, an important phenomenological model used to describe superconductivity. The vortices, identified as quantized amounts of vorticity of the superconducting current localized near points, are the objects of many observational and experimental studies, both past and present. The Ginzburg-Landau functionals considered include both the model cases with and without a magnetic field. The book acts a guide to the various branches of Ginzburg-Landau studies, provides context for the study of vortices, and presents a list of open problems in the field.




Selfdual Gauge Field Vortices


Book Description

This monograph discusses specific examples of selfdual gauge field structures, including the Chern–Simons model, the abelian–Higgs model, and Yang–Mills gauge field theory. The author builds a foundation for gauge theory and selfdual vortices by introducing the basic mathematical language of gauge theory and formulating examples of Chern–Simons–Higgs theories (in both abelian and non-abelian settings). Thereafter, the Electroweak theory and self-gravitating Electroweak strings are examined. The final chapters treat elliptic problems involving Chern–Simmons models, concentration-compactness principles, and Maxwell–Chern–Simons vortices.




Variational Methods in Nonlinear Field Equations


Book Description

The book analyzes the existence of solitons, namely of finite energy solutions of field equations which exhibit stability properties. The book is divided in two parts. In the first part, the authors give an abstract definition of solitary wave and soliton and we develop an abstract existence theory for hylomorphic solitons, namely for those solitons which minimize the energy for a given charge. In the second part, the authors apply this theory to prove the existence of hylomorphic solitons for some classes of field equations (nonlinear Klein-Gordon-Maxwell equations, nonlinear Schrödinger-Maxwell equations, nonlinear beam equation,..). The abstract theory is sufficiently flexible to be applied to other situations, like the existence of vortices. The books is addressed to Mathematicians and Physicists.




Ginzburg-Landau Vortices


Book Description

This book is concerned with the study in two dimensions of stationary solutions of uɛ of a complex valued Ginzburg-Landau equation involving a small parameter ɛ. Such problems are related to questions occurring in physics, e.g., phase transition phenomena in superconductors and superfluids. The parameter ɛ has a dimension of a length which is usually small. Thus, it is of great interest to study the asymptotics as ɛ tends to zero. One of the main results asserts that the limit u-star of minimizers uɛ exists. Moreover, u-star is smooth except at a finite number of points called defects or vortices in physics. The number of these defects is exactly the Brouwer degree – or winding number – of the boundary condition. Each singularity has degree one – or as physicists would say, vortices are quantized. The material presented in this book covers mostly original results by the authors. It assumes a moderate knowledge of nonlinear functional analysis, partial differential equations, and complex functions. This book is designed for researchers and graduate students alike, and can be used as a one-semester text. The present softcover reprint is designed to make this classic text available to a wider audience.




Quantized Vortex Dynamics and Superfluid Turbulence


Book Description

This book springs from the programme Quantized Vortex Dynamics and Sup- ?uid Turbulence held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (University of Cambridge) in August 2000. What motivated the programme was the recognition that two recent developments have moved the study of qu- tized vorticity, traditionally carried out within the low-temperature physics and condensed-matter physics communities, into a new era. The ?rst development is the increasing contact with classical ?uid dynamics and its ideas and methods. For example, some current experiments with - lium II now deal with very classical issues, such as the measurement of velocity spectra and turbulence decay rates. The evidence from these experiments and many others is that super?uid turbulence and classical turbulence share many features. The challenge is now to explain these similarities and explore the time scales and length scales over which they hold true. The observed classical aspects have also attracted attention to the role played by the ?ow of the normal ?uid, which was somewhat neglected in the past because of the lack of direct ?ow visualization. Increased computing power is also making it possible to study the coupled motion of super?uid vortices and normal ?uids. Another contact with classical physics arises through the interest in the study of super?uid vortex - connections. Reconnections have been studied for some time in the contexts of classical ?uid dynamics and magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD), and it is useful to learn from the experience acquired in other ?elds.




Vortex Dynamics


Book Description

Vortex dynamics is a natural paradigm for the field of chaotic motion and modern dynamical system theory. However, this volume focuses on those aspects of fluid motion that are primarily controlled by the vorticity and are such that the effects of the other fluid properties are secondary.




Ginzburg-Landau Vortices


Book Description

The Ginzburg-Landau equation us a mathematical model of superconductors has become an extremely useful tool in many areas of physics where vortices carrying a topological charge appear. The remarkable progress in the mathematical understanding of this equation involves a combined use of mathematical tools from many branches of mathematics. The Ginzburg-Landau model has been an amazing source of new problems and new ideas in analysis, geometry and topology. This collection will meet the urgent needs of the specialists, scholars and graduate students working in this area or related areas.




Dynamics of Quantised Vortices in Superfluids


Book Description

A comprehensive overview of the basic principles of vortex dynamics in superfluids, this book addresses the problems of vortex dynamics in all three superfluids available in laboratories (4He, 3He, and BEC of cold atoms) alongside discussions of the elasticity of vortices, forces on vortices, and vortex mass. Beginning with a summary of classical hydrodynamics, the book guides the reader through examinations of vortex dynamics from large scales to the microscopic scale. Topics such as vortex arrays in rotating superfluids, bound states in vortex cores and interaction of vortices with quasiparticles are discussed. The final chapter of the book considers implications of vortex dynamics to superfluid turbulence using simple scaling and symmetry arguments. Written from a unified point of view that avoids complicated mathematical approaches, this text is ideal for students and researchers working with vortex dynamics in superfluids, superconductors, magnetically ordered materials, neutron stars and cosmological models.