Anisotropic and long-range vortex interactions in two-dimensional dipolar Bose gases

We perform a theoretical study into how dipole-dipole interactions modify the properties of superfluid vortices within the context of a two-dimensional atomic Bose gas of co-oriented dipoles. The reduced density at a vortex acts like a giant anti-dipole, changing the density profile and generating an effective dipolar potential centred at the vortex core whose most slowly decaying terms go as $1/\rho^2$ and $\ln(\rho)/\rho^3$. These effects modify the vortex-vortex interaction which, in particular, becomes anisotropic for dipoles polarized in the plane. Striking modifications to vortex-vortex dynamics are demonstrated, i.e. anisotropic co-rotation dynamics and the suppression of vortex annihilation.
Comment: PRL accepted, 6 pages, 5 figures