Vortices in liquid helium—tiny, indivisible whirlpools with a fixed amount of spin—interact with ripples on the liquid’s surface in ways that physicists do not yet fully understand. This project builds a microscopic theory to explain those interactions. In ordinary fluids, waves and vortices mix freely, but in quantum fluids such as superfluid helium, vortices are quantised: they cannot be broken into smaller pieces. When the fluid has a free surface—like the boundary between air and water—the behaviour becomes even more complex. Recent experiments in the UK have revealed surprising stability patterns in these systems, but no theory yet explains them. This work fills that gap. The research is fundamental science. It will not produce a device or a material in the short term. But understanding how to control quantum vortices using a free surface could eventually inform technologies such as ultra-sensitive rotation sensors or quantum computing components, where vortex motion is a source of noise or a resource. Past fundamental work on quantum fluids, for example, led directly to the development of superconducting magnets used in MRI scanners. Alongside the science, the project will produce short films and a mini-documentary about the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme, aimed at raising public awareness and training a new generation of science communicators.
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Interactions between waves and vortices play a crucial role in a vast range of physical scenarios, ranging from atmospheric fluid flows to superconductors. In superfluids, vortices can arise as discrete, indivisible units with quantised circulation, giving rise to many celebrated quantum fluid phenomena e.g. topological phase transitions and quantum turbulence. However, the detailed dynamics of vortices is less well understood in quantum fluids with a free surface - i.e. a liquid interface like the one commonly seen between air and water - which is a prominent feature of strongly interacting quantum systems like liquid helium. This project will develop a microscopic theory of quantum vortices in the presence of a free surface, focussing in particular on their interaction with surface waves. Our theory will elucidate the fascinating stability properties of these systems observed in recent UK experiments, and find ways of using the free surface to control vortex dynamics. Advancements in understanding these strongly interacting quantum systems could have applications in emerging technologies, which can drive innovation and economic impact. Alongside the scientific objectives, the project will leverage its ties to the UK quantum community to produce a series of short films about the National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) - increasing public awareness of this important investment. These films will be displayed as part of an Art-Science exhibition (2025) in collaboration with researchers at the University of Nottingham, culminating in a mini-documentary sharing some of the most important success stories of NQTP. The filming process will be further used as an opportunity to engage with junior researchers in the UK community, providing them with an online platform to share their research with a broader audience. In doing so, the ambition of the project is to identify the next generation of outreach talents, with the long-term goal of making cutting-edge research more accessible and raising science literacy in the general population.
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