Nonclassical rotational inertia in a two-dimensional bosonic solid containing grain boundaries
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: We study the occurrence of nonclassical rotational inertia (NCRI) arising from superfluidity along grain boundaries in a two-dimensional bosonic system. We make use of a standard mapping between the zero-temperature properties of this system and the statistical mechanics of interacting vortex lines in the mixed phase of a type-II superconductor. In the mapping, the liquid phase of the vortex system corresponds to the superfluid bosonic phase. We consider numerically obtained polycrystalline configurations of the vortex lines in which the microcrystals are separated by liquidlike grain-boundary regions which widen as the vortex system temperature increases. The NCRI of the corresponding zero-temperature bosonic systems can then be numerically evaluated by solving the equations of superfluid hydrodynamics in the channels near the grain boundaries. We find that the NCRI increases very abruptly as the liquid regions in the vortex system (equivalently, superfluid regions in the bosonic system) form a connected, system-spanning structure with one or more closed loops. The implications of these results for experimentally observed supersolid phenomena are discussed.
Source: Physical Review B
Authors: Chandan Dasgupta, Oriol T. Valls
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2043796210