Quasiparticle scattering by quantum phase slips in one-dimensional superfluids

Abstract

Quantum phase slips (QPS) in narrow superfluid channels generate momentum by unwinding the supercurrent. In a uniform Bose gas, this momentum needs to be absorbed by quasiparticles (phonons). We show that this requirement results in an additional exponential suppression of the QPS rate (compared to the rate of QPS induced by a sharply localized perturbation). In BCS-paired fluids, momentum can be transferred to fermionic quasiparticles, and we find an interesting interplay between quasiparticle scattering on QPS and on disorder.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, no figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. Letter