Progress Towards an Experimental Apparatus to Explore Vortex Dynamics in Binary Superfluids.

Originally discovered in liquid helium, superfluidity is an example of quantum mechanics on the macro-scale, where useful bulk behaviour (fluid flow without viscosity) arises from the cooperative behaviour of many individual atoms. This macroscopic quantum behaviour is found in systems as disparate as extremely dense and relatively hot neutron stars, and ultracold dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), and has direct parallels to another important macroscopic quantum effect – superconductivity (flow of charge without resistance). Quantised vortices, topologically-protected defects, are ideal probes of the cooperative behaviour inherent in superfluid systems, as their nucleation, internal structure, and dynamics depend directly on the microscopic physics at play. Furthermore, vortices play an integral role in the dissipation of energy in these macroscopic quantum systems. I will present an overview of the experimental capabilities under development at the University of Strathclyde to enable studies of vortex dynamics in binary superfluids, with a particular focus on exploring the role that these vortices play in both supporting and destroying useful bulk quantum properties such as superfluidity and superconductivity.