Quantum vortex lattice: Lifshitz duality, topological defects, and multipole symmetries

Abstract

We study an effective field theory of a vortex lattice in a two-dimensional neutral rotating superfluid. Utilizing particle-vortex dualities, we explore its formulation in terms of a $U(1)$ gauge theory coupled to elasticity that at low energies reduces to a compact Lifshitz theory augmented with a Berry phase term encoding the vortex dynamics in the presence of a superflow. Utilizing elasticity- and Lifshitz-gauge-theory dualities, we derive dual formulations of the vortex lattice in terms of a traceless symmetric scalar-charge theory and demonstrate low-energy equivalence of our dual gauge theory to its elasticity-gauge theory dual. We further discuss a multipole symmetry of the vortex lattice and the multipole one-form symmetries of its dual gauge theory. We also study its topological crystalline defects, where the multipole one-form symmetry plays a prominent role. It classifies the defects, explains their restricted mobility, and characterizes descendant vortex phases, which includes a vortex-supersolid phase. Using the dual gauge theory, we also develop a mean-field theory for the quantum melting transition from a vortex crystal to a vortex supersolid.