Is a doubly quantized vortex dynamically unstable in uniform superfluids?

Abstract

We revisit the fundamental problem of the splitting instability of a doubly quantized vortex in uniform single-component superfluids at zero temperature. We analyze the system-size dependence of the excitation frequency of a doubly quantized vortex through large-scale simulations of the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equation, and find that the system remains dynamically unstable even in the infinite-system-size limit. Perturbation and semi-classical theories reveal that the splitting instability radiates a damped oscillatory phonon as an opposite counterpart of a quasi-normal mode.

8 pages, 6 figures