Composite defect extends analogy between cosmology and 3He

Spin-mass vortices have been observed to form in rotating superfluid 3He-B, following the absorption of a thermal neutron and a rapid transition from the normal to the superfluid state. The spin-mass vortex is a composite defect which consists of a planar soliton (wall) which terminates on a linear core (string). This observation fits well within the framework of a cosmological scenario for defect formation, known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. It suggests that in the early Universe analogous cosmological defects might have formed.     

Measurements on the vortex sheet in rotating superfluid He-A

When a cylindrical container filled with superfluid ³He---A is rotated around its symmetry axis, several different configurations of quantized vorticity are possible: which of them will be preferred depends on the specifics how the rotating state is formed. The most unusual is the vortex sheet, a domain wall in the order parameter texture into which vortex lines are confined. This metastable structure has the lowest critical velocity of formation if a domain wall with the appropriate orientation is already present in the container. In this case the vortex sheet becomes the preferred rotating state which provides the solid-body rotation of the superfluid component on an averaged scale. Its presence can be identified from the cw NMR spectrum which samples the order parameter texture. Here the experimental properties of the vortex sheet are reviewed, as deduced from NMR measurements.     

Annihilation of quantized vortex lines in rotating<Superscript>3</Superscript>He-A

The maximum number of vortex lines at a given angular velocity Ω is obtained during deceleration when vortices annihilate at the wall of the container. The width of the vortex-free region in the decelerated state has been measured by cw NMR for vortex lines with singular and continuous core structures. It corresponds to the limit of stability of peripheral vortices for single and double quantization respectively.     

Vortex arrays of coexisting singly and doubly quantized vortex lines in<Superscript>3</Superscript>He-A

In superfluid³He-A singly and doubly quantized vortex lines can coexist in a rotating container. We measure with NMR techniques the radial distribution of the two vortex types in an array of vortex lines. The radial composition is found to depend on the procedure by which the array has been formed. The result shows that in superfluid³He the energy barriers separating different configurations of the vortex array are inpenetrably high for a metastable state to relax.