| We explore the experimental implications of a recent theory of the quantum dynamics of vortices in two-dimensional superfluids proximate to Mott insulators [Balents, Bartosch, Burkov, Sachdev, and Sengupta, Physical Review B 71, 144508 (2005)]. The theory predicts modulations in the local density of states in the regions over which the vortices execute their quantum zero-point motion. We use the spatial extent of such modulations in scanning tunneling microscopy measurements on the vortex lattice of BSCCO to estimate the inertial mass of a point vortex. We also discuss the influence of the quantum zero-point motion of a vortex on the electronic quasiparticle spectra and give a possible explanation for the origin of the 7 meV peaks which were observed in STM studies of the electronic structure of the vortex core in BSCCO. |
|