Nucleation of Quantized Vortices within a Quantum-Mechanical Compton Generator*

In 1913, Arthur Compton invented a simple way to measure the rotation rate of the Earth with a tabletop-sized experiment. The experiment consisted of a large diameter circular ring of thin glass tubing filled with water and oil droplets. After placing the ring in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the Earth and allowing the fluid mixture to come to rest, he then abruptly rotated the ring, flipping it 180 degrees about an axis passing through its own plane. The result was that the fluid acquired a measurable drift velocity due to the Coriolis effect of the Earth. Compton measured this induced drift velocity by observing the motion of the oil droplets in the water with a microscope. This device, which is now named after him, is known as a Compton generator. The fundamental research objective of this project is to explore the dynamics of a quantum-mechanical analogue to the classical Compton generator experiment through the use of numerical simulations. Here, we present the first definitive results on the nucleation of quantized vortices within a quantum Compton generator and discuss future directions of the project.