Influence of winding number on vortex knots dynamics.

In this paper we determine the effects of winding number on the dynamics of vortex torus knots and unknots in the context of classical, ideal fluid mechanics. We prove that the winding number - a topological invariant of torus knots - has a primary effect on vortex motion. This is done by applying the Moore-Saffman desingularization technique to the full Biot-Savart induction law, determining the influence of winding number on the 3 components of the induced velocity. Results have been obtained for 56 knots and unknots up to 51 crossings. In agreement with previous numerical results we prove that in general the propagation speed increases with the number of toroidal coils, but we notice that the number of poloidal coils may greatly modify the motion. Indeed we prove that for increasing aspect ratio and number of poloidal coils vortex motion can be even reversed, in agreement with previous numerical observations. These results demonstrate the importance of three-dimensional features in vortex dynamics and find useful applications to understand helicity and energy transfers across scales in vortical flows.

Defect production by pure phase twist injection as Aharonov-Bohm effect.

In this paper we demonstrate that new phase defects of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) can be produced as a Aharonov-Bohm effect resulting from pure phase twist injection on existing defects. This is a phenomenon that has physical justification in the hydrodynamic interpretation of GPE. Here we give an analytical proof of its effects by using Fermi-Walker transport and Biot-Savart induction law. An analytical derivation of the dispersion relation is derived from the superposition of phase twist on the fundamental state. Since the extra twist corresponds to a topological change of the total linking number of the system, we show that the production of new defects is just another manifestation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We propose a laboratory experiment for Bose-Einstein condensates to test this phenomenon and to show that it can have useful applications in science and technology.

Momentum of vortex tangles by weighted area information.

Here we show how to apply a recently introduced method based on the geometric interpretation of linear momentum of vortex lines to determine dynamical properties of a network of knots and links. To show how the method works and to prove its feasibility, we consider the evolution of quantum vortices governed by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Accurate estimates of the momentum of interacting and reconnecting vortex rings, links, and knots are determined. The method is of general validity and it proves particularly useful in practical situations where no analytical information is available. It can be easily adapted to situations where morphological information can be extracted from experimental or computational data, thus providing a powerful tool for real-time diagnostics of vortex filaments or other networks of filamentary structures.

Relaxation of twist helicity in the cascade process of linked quantum vortices.

By numerically solving the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation we analyze the cascade process associated with the evolution and decay of a pair of linked vortex rings. The system decays through a series of reconnections to produce finally three unlinked, unfolded, almost planar vortex loops. Total helicity, initially zero, remains unchanged throughout the process. The gradual transfer from writhe (due to initial linking) to twist helicity, followed by a continuous relaxation of twist across scales during the evolution is shown to be a generic mechanism that consistently takes place on each individual component.

Knots cascade detected by a monotonically decreasing sequence of values.

Due to reconnection or recombination of neighboring strands superfluid vortex knots and DNA plasmid torus knots and links are found to undergo an almost identical cascade process, that tend to reduce topological complexity by stepwise unlinking. Here, by using the HOMFLYPT polynomial recently introduced for fluid knots, we prove that under the assumption that topological complexity decreases by stepwise unlinking this cascade process follows a path detected by a unique, monotonically decreasing sequence of numerical values. This result holds true for any sequence of standardly embedded torus knots T(2, 2n + 1) and torus links T(2, 2n). By this result we demonstrate that the computation of this adapted HOMFLYPT polynomial provides a powerful tool to measure topological complexity of various physical systems.

Conservation of writhe helicity under anti-parallel reconnection.

Reconnection is a fundamental event in many areas of science, from the interaction of vortices in classical and quantum fluids, and magnetic flux tubes in magnetohydrodynamics and plasma physics, to the recombination in polymer physics and DNA biology. By using fundamental results in topological fluid mechanics, the helicity of a flux tube can be calculated in terms of writhe and twist contributions. Here we show that the writhe is conserved under anti-parallel reconnection. Hence, for a pair of interacting flux tubes of equal flux, if the twist of the reconnected tube is the sum of the original twists of the interacting tubes, then helicity is conserved during reconnection. Thus, any deviation from helicity conservation is entirely due to the intrinsic twist inserted or deleted locally at the reconnection site. This result has important implications for helicity and energy considerations in various physical contexts.

Helicity conservation under quantum reconnection of vortex rings.

Here we show that under quantum reconnection, simulated by using the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, self-helicity of a system of two interacting vortex rings remains conserved. By resolving the fine structure of the vortex cores, we demonstrate that the total length of the vortex system reaches a maximum at the reconnection time, while both writhe helicity and twist helicity remain separately unchanged throughout the process. Self-helicity is computed by two independent methods, and topological information is based on the extraction and analysis of geometric quantities such as writhe, total torsion, and intrinsic twist of the reconnecting vortex rings.

Torus knots and polynomial invariants for a class of soliton equations.

In this paper is shown how to interpret the nonlinear dynamics of a class of one-dimensional physical systems exhibiting soliton behavior in terms of Killing fields for the associated dynamical laws acting as generators of torus knots. Soliton equations are related to dynamical laws associated with the intrinsic kinematics of space curves and torus knots are obtained as traveling wave solutions to the soliton equations. For the sake of illustration a full calculation is carried out by considering the Killing field that is associated with the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Torus knot solutions are obtained explicitly in cylindrical polar coordinates via perturbation techniques from the circular solution. Using the Hasimoto map, the soliton conserved quantities are interpreted in terms of global geometric quantities and it is shown how to express these quantities as polynomial invariants for torus knots. The techniques here employed are of general interest and lead us to make some conjectures on natural links between the nonlinear dynamics of one-dimensional extended objects and the topological classification of knots.