The mathematics of superfluid films

by Black, Christine Petersen

A superfluid film flowing along the walls of a porous material can be modelled by a harmonic differential on a Riemann surface satisfying integrality conditions on its periods and residues. In this thesis, we investigate the formation of strings of circulation and the minimization of the total kinetic energy, relating them to the mixed Hodge structure of the surface punctured at the vortices and the associated mixed Hodge norm.