  In this work we study the process of depinning of a quantum of circulation
trapped inside a disk by an applied two dimensional superflow. We use the
Gross-Pitaevskii model to describe the neutral superfluid. The collective
coordinate dynamics is derived directly from the condensate equation of motion,
the nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and it is used to obtain an expression for
the critical velocity as a function of the defect radius. This expression is
compared with a numerical result obtained from the time independent nonlinear
Schroedinger equation. Below the critical velocity, we obtain the dependence of
the semiclassical nucleation rate with the flow velocity at infinity. Above the
critical velocity, the classical vortex depinning is illustrated with a
numerical simulation of the time dependent nonlinear Schroedinger equation.
