Vortex knots in tangled quantum eigenfunctions

Strings or long chains are prone to knotting. Here, the authors demonstrate that the vortex structure of quantum wavefunctions, such as that in a simple harmonic oscillator, can also contain knots, whose topological complexity can be a descriptor of the spatial order of the system.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexander J. Taylor, Mark R. Dennis
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: Nature Portfolio 2016
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/540015389af24952b165a1573aa2b31d
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Summary:Strings or long chains are prone to knotting. Here, the authors demonstrate that the vortex structure of quantum wavefunctions, such as that in a simple harmonic oscillator, can also contain knots, whose topological complexity can be a descriptor of the spatial order of the system.