Statistical Mechanics of Vortex Lines
As first discussed by Onsager and Feynman, If the temperature is raised in a superfluid or a superconductor, the vortex loops undergo a second-order phase transition. This happens when the configurational entropy overcomes the Boltzmann factor which suppresses the thermal or heat generation of vortex lines. The lines form a condensate. Since the center of the lines, the vortex cores, are normal liquid or normal conductors, respectively, the condensation transforms the superfluid or superconductor into the normal state. The ensembles of vortex lines and their phase transitions can be described efficiently by a gauge theory.
Read more about this topic: Quantum Vortex
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