  We study reconnections of quantum vortices by numerically solving the
governing Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We find that the minimum distance between
vortices scales differently with time before and after the vortex reconnection.
We also compute vortex reconnections using the Biot-Savart law for vortex
filaments of infinitesimal thickness, and find that, in this model,
reconnection are time-symmetric. We argue that the likely cause of the
difference between the Gross-Pitaevskii model and the Biot-Savart model is the
intense rarefaction wave which is radiated away from a Gross-Pitaeveskii
reconnection. Finally we compare our results to experimental observations in
superfluid helium, and discuss the different length scales probed by the two
models and by experiments.
