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For $i{\psi }_t=-D{\nabla }^2\psi +[V(n)+i\Gamma (n)]\psi$, with real $D,V,\Gamma$ and $\psi =\sqrt{n}{e}^{iS}$, the continuity equation isMultiply the equation by ${\psi }^{\ast }$ and subtract its complex conjugate multiplied by $\psi$ to obtain this identity; real interaction and potential terms cancel. Thus the current velocity is $\mathbf{j}/n=2D\nabla S$. With dimensional kinetic operator $-{\hslash }^2{\nabla }^2/(2m)$ and left side $i\hslash {\psi }_t$, this gives the physical superfluid velocity $(\hslash /m)\nabla S$. In normalized equations with $D=1/2$ or $D=1$, the current velocity is respectively $\nabla S$ or $2\nabla S$. The distinction fixes the radial-flow slope of a driven quantum vortex.

For the pumped Gross–Pitaevskii equation with gain term $i(\gamma -\Gamma n)\psi$, put $\psi =\sqrt{n}\exp (im\varphi /\hslash )$. The physical superfluid velocity is $\nabla \varphi$. The imaginary part gives the displayed number balance, while the real part gives $m{\varphi }_t+m|\nabla \varphi {|}^2/2+gn-{\hslash }^2{\nabla }^2\sqrt{n}/(2m\sqrt{n})=0$. These Madelung equations hold away from density zeros. The source term permits stationary density with nonzero current divergence; local gain need not balance local loss pointwise.

For a centered quantum vortex in a two-dimensional Thomas–Fermi condensate, use an intermediate radius ${\xi }_{\mathrm{core}}\ll L\ll R$. The approximately uniform core contributes $\pi n_c{\hslash }^2{\mathcal{N}}^2[\log (L/\xi )+L_{0|\mathcal{N}|}]/m$. The outer superfluid velocity is $\hslash \mathcal{N}/(mr)$, so its kinetic contribution is $(\pi {\hslash }^2{\mathcal{N}}^2/m){\int }_L^R{n}_c(1-r^2/R^2)dr/r$. Integration cancels $L$ and produces the constant $-1/2$. The displayed result is the matched small-core approximation at fixed particle number, not a formula for arbitrarily large winding at fixed cloud size. The angular momentum is exactly $L_z=N\hslash \mathcal{N}$ for a normalized axisymmetric single-winding state.

The normal component of a superfluid describes the momentum and entropy carried by excitations rather than the phase-gradient condensate current. Its velocity need not equal the superfluid velocity. In phenomenological condensate equations, prescribing its motion supplies a reference flow for dissipation; a full two-component fluid theory would also evolve its momentum and energy.

These are two responses of one liquid, not separable kinds of atoms. Their fractions need not equal the Bose-Einstein condensation fraction.^[ref]

Two complementary signatures are suppressed low-speed dissipation and quantized circulation. Condensation alone establishes macroscopic occupation, not all of these flow properties. In a uniform weakly interacting condensate, the Landau criterion givesfor the Bogoliubov spectrum. Creating an excitation in a flow changes energy by $E(\mathbf{p})-\mathbf{v}\cdot \mathbf{p}$; a negative value allows energy transfer. Boundaries and vortex nucleation can make an actual measured threshold lower than this ideal bulk sound speed.

In the moving-obstacle test of atomic superfluidity, a blue-detuned focused laser repelled atoms in a sodium condensate and was scanned at different speeds. After a fixed exposure, time-of-flight absorption imaging measured the reduction of condensate fraction as a heating indicator. Low-speed heating was small, with a pronounced onset near $1.6mm/s$, below the peak-density sound speed near $6.2mm/s$. A stationary-beam control showed no heating; above-transition clouds constrained heating through the noncondensed fraction. Changing scan frequency and amplitude at common obstacle velocity helped separate a flow threshold from a particular trap resonance. Density inhomogeneity, obstacle geometry and vortex nucleation limit identification of the observed onset with a unique homogeneous Landau velocity.^[ref]

A second experiment stirred rubidium-87 in a magnetic trap by rotating a small transverse anisotropy generated with a far-detuned attractive laser. After stirring, the cloud expanded for $27\mathrm{ms}$ and absorption imaging along the rotation axis revealed vortex cores. Below a threshold no cores appeared; faster rotation produced one or several. Ramping the stirrer down before release reduced additional excitation, and waiting after removing it tested vortex survival. Beam-centre stability and residual trap anisotropy are important controls; an isolated density dip without the rotation and persistence evidence would be less conclusive. This stirred-condensate vortex experiment is a response to rotation, distinct from merely imaging the appearance of a condensate.^[ref]

The superfluid velocity is ${\mathbf{v}}_s=(\hslash /m)\nabla \theta$. A closed loop avoiding a core must return a single-valued order parameter, soA singly quantized vortex therefore has $2\pi$ phase winding and circulation $h/m$, with depleted density in a core of order the healing length. This quantized rotational response differs from ordinary rigid-body flow. The experiment supports that interpretation through controlled stirring and vortex formation; imaging cores alone does not independently measure every phase winding or an absolute zero dissipative rate.

Write ${ϵ}_k={\hslash }^2{k}^2/(2m)$, $E_k=\hslash \omega$, and take $\mu >0$. The Bogoliubov spectrum is gapless and positive for $k\ne 0$. Its small- and large-momentum limits areThe low-energy excitations are collective sound modes; high-energy excitations approach particles with a mean-field energy offset. With healing length $\xi =\hslash /\sqrt{2m\mu }$ and $q=|k|\xi$,The crossover occurs at $q$ of order one, not at an additional energy gap.

The critical velocity of a homogeneous condensate follows because the Landau criterion compares an excitation energy with the energy that flow can release by transferring its momentum. Creating a mode is energetically possible when $E_k-\hslash \mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{v}\le 0$. For this isotropic spectrum,The infimum is the long-wavelength speed of sound. This tests energetic stability against the stated excitations; it is not a calculation of a dissipation rate or a universal vortex-nucleation threshold.

For an external potential varying slowly on the healing scale, the Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate neglects density-gradient kinetic energy in the stationary Gross–Pitaevskii equation. In occupied regions it givesHere $\rho$ is the appropriate local number density; in the ring it is a linear density and $g$ is the one-dimensional coupling. This is the local-density sound speed of a condensate. The formula applies where $\mu >V$, not in an empty region where its square root would be imaginary.

Normalize the condensate order parameter to the atom number:up to an arbitrary constant phase. A wavefunction normalized to one instead has amplitude $1/\sqrt{2\pi R}$, with $N|\psi {|}^2$ then providing density. Acting with $L_z=-i\hslash {\partial }_{\theta }$ gives angular momentum $n\hslash$ per atom and $Nn\hslash$ in total for the uniform ring. The superfluid velocity isThe interaction chemical potential is ${\mu }_0=gN/(2\pi R)$; a flowing uniform state also has the constant kinetic contribution ${\hslash }^2{n}^2/(2m{R}^2)$ to its total chemical potential. Its speed of sound is set by the interaction term. Applying $|v|<\sqrt{{\mu }_0/m}$ givesFor a uniform ring condensate, this is the continuum phonon criterion used here. Quantization of the available excitation wavelengths in a very small ring can modify a finite-size threshold.

For the nonrotating equilibrium with a raised left half, let ${\rho }_L$ and ${\rho }_R$ be the bulk linear densities. Within the same Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate,When both halves are occupied, normalization fixesand thereforeThese expressions require $V_0<2{\mu }_0$. Beyond that threshold, extending them would give a negative left density and is unphysical. Instead the left bulk empties, all $N$ atoms occupy a segment of length $\pi R$, andAt equality the left bulk just reaches zero density. kinetic energy rounds the interface and produces tails beyond the Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate, so an exactly empty half is the idealized bulk result.

A nonconstant $V(\theta )$ breaks rotational symmetry:Consequently angular momentum is no longer a good quantum number, and an eigenfunction need not be $e^{in\theta }$ times a constant amplitude. Nevertheless, while the order parameter is nonzero around the whole ring, single-valuedness requiresThe integer is a phase winding of a condensate, not an assertion that the inhomogeneous state remains an angular-momentum eigenstate. A superfluid phase slip can change it if the amplitude vanishes locally.

Conservation of particles gives ${\partial }_t\rho +{\partial }_s(\rho v)=0$. For steady density the one-dimensional particle current $j=\rho v$ is constant. Since the two halves have equal lengths,The current bottleneck in an inhomogeneous condensate occurs because a lower-density region has faster flow at the same current; it also has a smaller speed of sound. This makes the raised half the limiting region.

For $V_0=2{\mu }_0/3$ the equilibrium approximation givesThe winding condition and equal lengths requireThus the left-hand sound-speed test isThe right-hand condition is only $n^2<3m{R}^2{\mu }_0/{\hslash }^2$, so it is less restrictive.

This local sound-speed estimate for ring-flow stability uses the step-potential equilibrium in a ring condensate densities together with the local sound-speed test, as suggested by the preceding approximations. A quantitatively self-consistent finite-current solution also includes $m{v}^2/2$ and the quantum pressure of a condensate in the stationary Gross–Pitaevskii equation, allowing flow to change the density. Smooth steps suppress reflection but do not alone remove those terms. The $3/8$ result is the stated local-density estimate; it should not be promoted to an exact stability theorem for every finite interacting ring.

Use the stationary quantum vortex fieldwith no dependence on the coordinate along the vortex line. The polar Laplacian contributes $R^{\prime \prime }+R^{\prime }/r-{\mathcal{N}}^{2}R/r^2$. ConsequentlyA regular vortex with nonzero integer winding number has $R\sim C{r}^{|\mathcal{N}|}$ near the origin. The angular phase gives the superfluid velocity $\hslash \mathcal{N}/(mr)$ outside the core. For $s\ne 0$, the exterior amplitude responds to the periodically varying potential; it is not generally a constant bulk value. The radial potential here is not a Cartesian translation-invariant optical lattice, so the Cartesian Bloch theorem is not an exact theorem for its full radial equation.

Use the central number density $n_c$, radius $R$ and central healing length $\xi$ from the preceding part. The vortex energy means the excess over the no-vortex ground state at fixed particle number. Choose an intermediate matching radius $\xi \ll L\ll R$. Inside $L$, the trapped number density differs little from $n_c$, so the resolved uniform vortex core givesOutside the core, the singly quantized superfluid velocity is $u_{\theta }=\hslash /(mr)$. Its leading flow kinetic energy in the parabolic background is thereforeAdding the regions cancels the arbitrary matching radius. Sending $L/R\to 0$ while $\xi /L\to 0$ gives the matched vortex energy in a parabolic condensateThe $-1/2$ comes from the decrease of background number density away from the centre. It would be missed by treating the whole trap as uniform. To this accuracy, using the unperturbed TF density in the outer region is appropriate at fixed $N$: the first variation of trapping plus interaction energy is $\mu \delta N$ and therefore vanishes after the small normalization adjustment. The resolved core energy supplies the finite core correction $L_{01}$, while remaining cloud-edge and density-relaxation corrections vanish in the small-core TF limit. This is an asymptotic energy estimate, not an exact formula at finite $R/\xi$.

Let $\mathcal{N}\in \mathbb{Z}$ be the vortex winding number, distinct from the particle number $N$. Outside its core, the superfluid velocity is $u_{\theta }=\hslash \mathcal{N}/(mr)$. The outer flow energy is therefore multiplied by ${\mathcal{N}}^2$, while the resolved core contribution contains the appropriate constant $L_{0|\mathcal{N}|}$. The same matching integration givesThe core equation depends on ${\mathcal{N}}^2$, so reversing circulation leaves this energy unchanged. On the other hand, $-i\hslash {\partial }_{\theta }[f(r)e^{i\mathcal{N}\theta }]=\hslash \mathcal{N}f(r)e^{i\mathcal{N}\theta }$, giving the exact resultNegative winding reverses angular momentum; zero winding has zero excess vortex energy and zero angular momentum. The energy approximation applies to each fixed nonzero winding in the TF limit. More generally its core radius, of order $|\mathcal{N}|\xi$, must be much smaller than $R$ so that a matching interval exists. It is not valid uniformly for arbitrary growing $|\mathcal{N}|$ at fixed cloud size. The leading quadratic energy cost also explains why multiply quantized vortices can lower their energy by separating into singly quantized vortices; this energy comparison does not by itself establish a particular dynamical splitting rate.

For a positive uniform number density $n_{\ast }$ and constant superfluid velocity $v\hat{\mathbf{x}}$, current divergence vanishes. The stationary density equation therefore imposes $(\gamma -\Gamma n_{\ast })n_{\ast }=0$, giving $n_{\ast }=\gamma /\Gamma$. The quantum potential vanishes, so the phase equation sets $\mu =m{v}^2/2+V_0\gamma /\Gamma$. Thus the uniform-current pumped polariton condensate isDirect substitution verifies the equation: the kinetic term gives $m{v}^2/2$, the interaction gives $V_0\gamma /\Gamma$, and the gain-loss term is zero. A constant overall phase is arbitrary.

With the stated $\gamma ,\Gamma >0$, this nonzero plane wave exists for any real $v$ and real interaction coefficient $V_0$ when $\mu$ is determined by the solution. If a particular real chemical potential is prescribed instead, the existence condition isEquality gives the uniform condensate at rest. A nonzero density generally requires $\gamma /\Gamma >0$; a zero nonlinear-loss coefficient with positive pumping would not allow this nonzero stationary balance. The vacuum is a separate zero solution, unstable to small perturbations for positive pump.

Existence should not be confused with stability. For completeness, linearize in the comoving frame with $\psi ={\psi }_{\ast }[1+u+iw]$, and let ${ϵ}_k={\hslash }^2{k}^2/(2m)$. The linear real-amplitude and phase equations givesoFor $V_0\ge 0$ both growth rates have nonpositive real parts, including the neutral uniform-phase mode. For $V_0<0$, sufficiently small nonzero $k$ makes the constant term negative, so one growth rate is positive: the plane wave still exists but is unstable in an infinite system. Uniform drift adds only a Doppler phase to these growth rates in this model.

Define the physical velocity potential by $\psi =\sqrt{n}\exp (im\varphi /\hslash )$, so the superfluid velocity is $\mathbf{v}=\nabla \varphi$. The condensate number current isMultiplying the pumped Gross–Pitaevskii equation by ${\psi }^{\ast }$ and subtracting its complex conjugate gives the density equation. Equivalently, substituting the amplitude and phase and equating imaginary parts yieldsEquating real parts gives the other gain-loss Madelung equations relation,The last term is the quantum potential, retained wherever $n>0$. Taking a gradient gives the equivalent velocity equationin an irrotational region. In equilibrium $n_t=0$ and $\varphi (\mathbf{x},t)=\Phi (\mathbf{x})-\mu t/m$, soThis convention distinguishes the physical velocity potential from the dimensionless quantum phase $m\varphi /\hslash$; using the latter instead would change the divergence prefactor.

A homogeneous static saddle minimizes $f(\rho )=-\mu \rho +g{\rho }^2/2$ for $\rho =|\psi {|}^2\ge 0$. With $g>0$ and $\mu >0$,The mean-field Bose-Einstein condensate has a macroscopic coherent occupation of the uniform mode. Its continuous particle-number phase symmetry is $\psi \mapsto e^{i\chi }\psi$, the circle group $U(1)$ generated by particle number. Choosing one phase breaks it, and the saddle manifold is a circle. For $\mu \le 0$, the constrained minimum is the vacuum ${\rho }_0=0$, so the condensed saddle requires the stated positive-density regime.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking is understood through a phase-selected thermodynamic description: an exact finite-volume number eigenstate has vanishing field expectation. The resulting Goldstone boson is a gapless phase/sound mode, while phase gradients carry the superfluid velocity $\mathbf{v}=\nabla \varphi /m$. This is the saddle-point conclusion requested, not a proof of true condensate order in every dimension or temperature. Long-wavelength phase fluctuations can invalidate the assumed order, as quantified below.

Take a singly quantized vortex of positive circulation. The superfluid velocity is $\mathbf{u}=(\hslash /m)\nabla S$, where $S$ is the complex argument of the condensate. Since $S=\theta$, quantized circulation gives $u_{\theta }=\hslash /(mr)$. Insert the radial Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate into the cylindrical volume integral, excluding the core $r<a_0$:Integrating the logarithmic and quadratic terms separately givesThe logarithm is the familiar long-range flow contribution of a quantum vortex; the $-1/2$ comes from the declining trapped number density. If the bucket truncates the cloud, put $R=R_0<R_r$ and the same integration gives $E_{\mathrm{kin}}=\pi H_0{\hslash }^2{n}_0[\log (R/a_0)-(R^2-a_0^2)/(2R_r^2)]/m$, provided $a_0<R$. A vortex of integer winding number $q$ has $u_{\theta }=q\hslash /(mr)$ and multiplies this flow energy by $q^2$. The core radius acts as a cutoff of order the local healing length; its internal gradient and interaction energies are not computed by this shell estimate.

For a straight singly quantized quantum vortex, use cylindrical distance $r$ from the line and writeThere is no dependence along the vortex line. Substitution into the normalized stationary equation gives, before separating real and imaginary parts,Consequently the wave amplitude and phase-gradient equations areThe second equation can also be written $(r{f}^{2}k{)}^{\prime }=-{\xi }_{I}r{f}^2(1-f^2)$, which remains convenient at the core.

To specify what is meant by radial velocity, use the condensate number current. The time-dependent equation has kinetic operator $-{\nabla }^2$ and therefore number current $\mathbf{j}=2|\Psi {|}^2\nabla S$. Its hydrodynamic superfluid velocity in these units is $\mathbf{u}=2\nabla S$, so $u_r=2k$ and $u_{\theta }=2/r$. In that convention the requested pair isIf instead velocity is defined as the complex argument gradient itself, the preceding $k$ pair is the corresponding convention; the distinction matters because the printed kinetic coefficient differs from that of the normalized conservative equation in Question 1.

Regularity of a unit-charge core gives $f(r)=ar+O(r^3)$ with $a>0$. Integrating the current equation from the origin, with no point source or singular radial flux, givesThe integral is $a^2{r}^4/4+O(r^6)$, so the radial flow near a driven vortex core isFor the phase-gradient convention, $k^{\prime }(0)=-{\xi }_I/4=\alpha /4$. Gain exceeds loss in the depleted core, hence this regular flow is outwards for $\alpha >0$. The real wave amplitude equation also gives $f=ar-{\xi }_{R}a{r}^3/8+O(r^5)$, independently consistent with the linear core behaviour. A nonzero integration constant in the radial-current identity would create a singular $u_r\sim r^{-3}$ and is excluded.

Finally, the literal boundary $\psi \to 1$ from the preceding part cannot apply to a multiplicity-one vortex: its complex argument changes by $2\pi$ around a large circle. Even $f(r)e^{i\theta }$ with $f\to 1$ has different limits along different rays. The usual intended vortex condition concerns the wave amplitude approaching its bulk value, with the winding complex argument retained; it is not a constant complex-field limit. The local equations and core slope derived here do not establish a global stationary vortex satisfying that literal boundary. In a driven system the far-field radial flow and oscillation frequency may also require selection, so no global zero-flow vortex is asserted.

For a dilute three-dimensional weakly interacting Bose gas with repulsive short-range scattering, use a contact coupling $g=4\pi {\hslash }^2{a}_s/m>0$ and $n{a}_s^3\ll 1$. In imaginary time ${\tau }_E$, the grand-canonical action isThe uniform saddle has $n_0=\mu /g$. Its real-time equation is the Gross–Pitaevskii equation; quantum depletion means condensate and total density need not coincide exactly.

Writing $\psi =\sqrt{n_0}+\delta \psi$ and retaining quadratic fluctuations gives a Nambu kernel with diagonal ${ϵ}_k+g{n}_0$, anomalous coupling $g{n}_0$ and ${ϵ}_k={\hslash }^2{k}^2/(2m)$. The Bogoliubov quasiparticle dispersion isPhase and density fluctuations form the gapless sound mode associated with broken global $U(1)$ symmetry. At large momentum the spectrum crosses towards particle behaviour; the healing length is $\xi =\hslash /\sqrt{2mg{n}_0}$. The depletion integral $\int d^{3}k{v}_k^2/(2\pi {)}^3$ is finite in three dimensions and gives $(n-n_0)/n\simeq 8\sqrt{n{a}_s^3}/(3\sqrt{\pi })$ to leading order. The contact coupling denotes a scattering-length-renormalized interaction; naive ultraviolet zero-point integrals require renormalization.

The condensate phase gives superfluid velocity ${\mathbf{v}}_s=(\hslash /m)\nabla \theta$ and quantized circulation $\oint {\mathbf{v}}_s\cdot d\mathbf{l}=2\pi \hslash \ell /m$. The Landau criterion, $v_c={\min }_k{E}_k/(\hslash k)$, gives $c_s$ for this homogeneous Bogoliubov spectrum. Boundaries and vortex nucleation can cause dissipation below that value, so it is not a universal measured critical speed. Condensation and superfluid stiffness are related but distinct; dimensional fluctuations can remove true condensate order while retaining superfluid responses.

For a uniform time-independent saddle, extremizing the action gives $(-\mu +g|{\psi }_0{|}^2){\psi }_0=0$. Its grand-potential density is $f(\rho )=-\mu \rho +g{\rho }^2/2$, with $\rho =|{\psi }_0{|}^2\ge 0$. Since $g>0$, the minimum at positive density for $\mu >0$ isFor $\mu \le 0$ the uniform mean-field minimum is the vacuum, rather than a positive-density condensate. At fixed nonzero density in the weakly interacting condensed regime, the saddle relation sets $\mu \simeq g{\rho }_0$. The mean-field one-body density matrix factorizes as $⟨a^{†}(\mathbf{r})a({\mathbf{r}}^{\prime })⟩\simeq {\rho }_0$, giving macroscopic occupation of the uniform mode. Depletion corrections are omitted at this stage.

The action has the global particle-number symmetry $\psi \mapsto e^{i\alpha }\psi$, $\bar{\psi }\mapsto e^{-i\alpha }\bar{\psi }$. Choosing one saddle phase breaks this $U(1)$ symmetry; the degenerate mean-field minima form the circle $U(1)\simeq S^1$. There is no energetic preference for a uniform value of ${\varphi }_0$, but spatially varying phase costs gradient energy. Consequently a neutral condensate has a gapless Goldstone mode and a nonzero phase stiffness. The mode becomes sound once density dynamics is included. With $\hslash =1$ the superfluid velocity is $\nabla \varphi /m$, so a single-valued field allows circulation in units $2\pi /m$ around a closed loop that avoids zeros of the amplitude. This phase coherence and rigidity are the physical content of the broken-symmetry description.

The claim is a mean-field saddle statement, not an assertion that every $d$ and temperature in the question supports true long-range order. In a finite number-conserving system $⟨a⟩=0$; the symmetry-breaking order parameter is defined with the thermodynamic limit taken before an infinitesimal source is removed. In a homogeneous infinite short-range gas at nonzero temperature, infrared phase fluctuations prohibit true condensation in $d\le 2$. In one dimension they also destroy true condensate long-range order at zero temperature. A two-dimensional gas can nevertheless have superfluidity and algebraically decaying correlations below a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition. A finite trap can have substantial coherence without contradicting these thermodynamic statements.^[ref]

A neutral superfluid has a complex order parameter whose phase describes coherent particle transport. For a Bose condensate it is represented by a field amplitude; for a paired Fermi superfluid it is a pair amplitude. In a symmetry-breaking description, selecting its phase breaks the global particle-number $U(1)$ symmetry. A common phase shift leaves the energy unchanged, while a phase gradient costs energy and produces superfluid velocity. Long-wavelength phase oscillations give a gapless Goldstone mode, generally a sound wave when density fluctuations provide the conjugate dynamics. A finite isolated state with exact particle number need not have a nonzero field expectation: the phase-selected language describes the ordered limit and relative-phase coherence.

In a superconductor, the paired order parameter carries charge of magnitude $2e$ and couples to the electromagnetic field. The meaningful spatial phase combination is $\hslash \nabla \theta -q\mathbf{A}$, with signed pair charge $q$. Gauge symmetry is a redundancy, so “breaking local gauge symmetry” is not a literal breaking of a measurable physical symmetry. The gauge-invariant electromagnetic response includes the Meissner effect and a finite London penetration depth. Long-range Coulomb forces move the would-be neutral phase mode to a plasma scale through the Anderson-Higgs mechanism in a superconductor.

Additional symmetries can be broken by particular pairing states. Conventional isotropic spin-singlet pairing need not break spatial rotations or time reversal. A d-wave superconductor has a gap transforming nontrivially under crystal symmetries, and some triplet or multicomponent states can also break spin-rotation or time-reversal symmetries. These additional choices are not required by superconductivity itself. A nonzero pairing amplitude, phase coherence and electromagnetic screening describe related but distinct aspects of the ordered state.

For a one-component superfluid with nonzero order-parameter magnitude on a closed loop, the phase defines a map from the loop into the circle. Its winding number isThe fundamental group ${\pi }_1(S^1)=\mathbb{Z}$ means that smooth deformations preserving nonzero amplitude cannot change this integer. With superfluid velocity ${\mathbf{v}}_s=\hslash \nabla \theta /m_B$, it gives quantized circulation $\oint {\mathbf{v}}_s\cdot d\mathbf{l}=nh/m_B$. A vortex core permits the order parameter to vanish and carries the winding; a superfluid phase slip changes a loop's winding when a core crosses it. For paired neutral fermions, the relevant condensed-object mass is the pair mass.

For charged pairs, gauge-covariant phase rigidity gives fluxoid and flux quantization in a superconductor:The magnitude of the pair flux quantum is $h/(2e)$. Magnetic flux alone approaches an integer multiple of this value when the circulating-velocity term on a bulk contour is negligible. The topological condition is not a claim that an arbitrary finite loop has exactly quantized magnetic flux independent of its screening current.

There are also momentum-space invariants, distinct from real-space vortex winding. A fully gapped two-dimensional Bogoliubov--de Gennes Hamiltonian can have a Chern number obtained from its occupied quasiparticle bands' Berry curvature. In a chiral paired model it can protect edge modes while the bulk gap and relevant symmetry class are maintained. Such an invariant can change only when those assumptions fail, for example through a bulk gap closing. A nodal d-wave state requires a different analysis; it is not automatically a fully gapped Chern superconductor.

For a neutral condensate with order parameter $\psi =\sqrt{n_s}{e}^{i\varphi }$, the superfluid velocity away from singularities is ${\mathbf{v}}_s=\hslash \nabla \varphi /m$. Single-valuedness around a closed contour gives $\oint \nabla \varphi \cdot d\mathbf{l}=2\pi n$, hence quantization of circulation:The mass is that of the condensed object: an atom for a bosonic atomic superfluid, or a pair for a paired-fermion condensate. A nonzero winding cannot be continuously removed while the order parameter remains nonzero throughout a spanning region. A vortex allows its phase to wind while its amplitude vanishes in a core.

For a charged condensate, minimal coupling gives $m{\mathbf{v}}_s+q\mathbf{A}=\hslash \nabla \varphi$. ThusUsing ${\mathbf{j}}_s=n_{s}q{\mathbf{v}}_s$ and ${\lambda }_L^2=m/({\mu }_0{n}_s{q}^2)$ gives the fluxoid and flux quantization in a superconductor relation $\Phi +{\mu }_0{\lambda }_L^2\oint {\mathbf{j}}_s\cdot d\mathbf{l}=nh/q$. The signs of oriented flux and winding depend on the signed pair charge; the magnitude of the elementary superconducting flux quantum is ${\Phi }_0=h/(2e)$. Flux alone is quantized when the current term is negligible on a contour deep in the bulk. A thin ring or a contour near a core can instead require the full fluxoid.

In a neutral superfluid, vortex flow carries kinetic energy and angular momentum. Rotation can favor vortices because equilibrium minimizes the rotating-frame quantity $E-\mathbf{\Omega }\cdot \mathbf{L}$. The core size is set by a coherence or healing scale. In a type-II superconductor, an Abrikosov vortex carries quantized magnetic flux and circulating supercurrent; its core scale is the coherence length and its magnetic screening scale is the penetration depth. Between the lower and upper critical fields, a vortex lattice can be favored. Flux pinning affects how that structure responds to current. Type-I bulk superconductors instead favor macroscopic normal/superconducting separation rather than the usual stable dilute Abrikosov-vortex regime.

Single-valuedness of the condensate field gives total complex argument change $2\pi q$ on a closed loop avoiding zeros, where $q$ is an integer winding number. Integrating the superfluid velocity around that loop gives the displayed circulation. It is unchanged by smooth deformations of the loop that do not cross a quantum vortex.