Physicists at the University of British Columbia have modeled how a thin sheet of superfluid helium can mimic the mysterious Schwinger effect, where particles spring into being from nothing. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, outlines how vortex pairs, rather than electrons, could appear spontaneously in a flowing 2D superfluid, providing an experimental route to study an effect otherwise confined to inaccessible realms of the universe.
From Schwinger’s Dream to Superfluid Films
In 1951, Julian Schwinger imagined that a strong enough electric field could rip apart the vacuum, birthing electron-positron pairs. The trouble is, the field strength required is so astronomical that no laboratory can reach it. The effect remains theoretical, a tantalizing idea floating just beyond experimental grasp.
Dr. Philip Stamp and his colleague Michael Desrochers at UBC have now translated that impossible test into a more tangible one. In their model, a flowing film of helium-4 cooled into its superfluid phase acts as the vacuum, while vortices and anti-vortices replace the elusive particle pairs.
“Superfluid Helium-4 is a wonder. At a few atomic layers thick it can be cooled very easily to a temperature where it’s basically in a frictionless vacuum state,” said Stamp. “When we make that frictionless vacuum flow, instead of electron-positron pairs appearing, vortex/anti-vortex pairs will appear spontaneously.”
A Cosmic Mirror on a Tabletop
The researchers argue that this system is not only an analog of cosmic processes, but also a physical phenomenon worth studying on its own. The mathematics required a shift in thinking: the mass of a vortex is not fixed, but changes dramatically as it moves. That realization reshapes how physicists understand vortices in both fluids and potentially in the early universe.
Desrochers underscored the broader resonance:
“It’s exciting to understand how and why the mass varies, and how this affects our understanding of quantum tunnelling processes, which are ubiquitous in physics, chemistry and biology.”
Beyond Analogy
Stamp emphasizes that while the helium films may echo cosmic vacuums or quantum black holes, their significance extends further. They are real materials in the lab, open to direct manipulation and exploration. Experiments that test their predictions could soon reveal how vortex tunneling operates and whether it forces a reconsideration of Schwinger’s original quantum field theory.
Takeaway
By reframing the impossible into the tangible, UBC physicists have drawn a bridge between cosmic mysteries and tabletop experiments. Their work not only opens new paths for probing quantum tunneling but also shows how the humble shimmer of helium film can carry the echoes of the universe’s deepest secrets.
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2421273122
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