The Non-Perturbative Quantum Vortex in the (2+1)-d O(2) Scalar Field Theory

Tuesday, 16 November 2021 at 11:15

Vortices arise as solutions of classical equations of motion, thus constituting topological excitations of classical field theories. Their quantization can be carried at a semi-classical level, but quantizing topological excitations beyond a semi-classical approximation is rather nontrivial, even from a conceptual point of view. Vortices are condensed matter analogs of monopoles and arise in Bose-Einstein condensates and superfluids. These systems can be described by the (2+1)-d O(2) model, where vortices are present through nontrivial winding of the field. This model can be dualized to scalar QED. At low temperature, the O(2) symmetry breaks spontaneously and the vortex dualizes to an infraparticle: a charged particle that is surrounded by a cloud of photons spreading out to infinity. In this talk I will show how, by carrying out this dualization and by performing numerical simulations of scalar QED, it is possible to extract universal finite-volume vortex properties like its mass and charge, near the Wilson-Fisher fixed point.

Slides (PDF, 16 MB)