Decay of counterflow turbulence in superfluid <Superscript>4</Superscript>He

We summarize recent experiments on thermal counterflow turbulence in superfluid ⁴He, emphasizing the observation of turbulence in the normal fluid and its effect on the decay process when the heat flux is turned off. We argue that what is observed as turbulence in the normal fluid is a novel form of coupled turbulence in the superfluid and normal components, with injection of energy on the scales of both the (large) channel width and the (small) spacing between quantized vortices. Although an understanding of this coupled turbulence remains challenging, a theory of its decay is developed which accounts for the experimental observations.     

Coherence and recombination in two-dimensional atomic hydrogen on the surface of superfluid <Superscript>4</Superscript>He

Experimental results on the achievement of high degrees of quantum degeneration in two-dimensional atomic hydrogen (2D H↓) by the magnetic-compression method are analyzed by taking into account current data on the binding energy E _a = 1.14(1) K of hydrogen atoms with the ⁴He surface and the constant K _ab of the two-particle exchange recombination of adsorbed H atoms. The behavior of pair and three-particle correlation functions, as well as the transverse delocalization of the wavefunction of adsorbed atoms due to their interaction with each other, is taken into account self-consistently. A new mechanism of cooling of the compression region by means of the flow of H atoms on the helium surface with the subsequent evaporation and emission from a magnetic trap is proposed. This mechanism prevails at high densities, whereas the heat transfer at low densities occurs owing mainly to the interaction of ripplons with the phonons of the helium film. Existing data corroborate the achievement of the phase density σλ² ? 10, which is certainly higher than the density necessary for both the arrangement of local coherence in 2D H↓ and its transition to the superfluid state. The results agree with the representations on quasi-condensation; however, direct evidence of this phenomenon is not revealed. The probability of three-particle dipole recombination that is corrected for the quantum correlation and delocalization is equal to 7(2) × 10^?26 cm⁴ s^?1 (T = 0.15, …, 0.21 K, B = 6.6 T, and σλ² = 1, …, 9). The results are compared with other theoretical and experimental data.     

Acoustic modes in 2D atomic hydrogen on the surface of superfluid <Superscript>4</Superscript>He

Possible acoustic modes in a superfluid 2D gas of hydrogen atoms adsorbed on the surface of liquid helium at T ? 0.1 K are considered depending on the oscillation frequency and times of energy and momentum transfers both between 2D subsystems of hydrogen atoms and ripplons and into the bulk liquid or substrate. Analogues of the usual and second sounds are realized in 2D hydrogen at high frequencies. In the case of weak coupling with the bulk liquid and substrate, ripplons provide an addition to the normal hydrogen component, which leads to a change in the speed of the second sound. In the most interesting range of low frequencies, an analogue of the fourth sound is realized, when ripplons and the normal hydrogen component are immobile and only the superfluid hydrogen component moves. In this case, when the rate of heat transfer into the bulk liquid is much lower than the sound frequency, oscillations of the temperature of hydrogen can be observed in phase with density oscillations. Methods for exciting acoustic modes are discussed.     

Thermodynamics of the surface of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He crystals

The conditions for applicability of the mean field theory for describing the thermodynamics of the surface of ⁴He crystals are investigated based on analysis of experimental data. It is found that although the faceting phase transition itself is a Berezinsky–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase transition, the thermodynamic potential outside a narrow neighborhood of the transition temperature can be expanded into a series in terms of the Landau theory of second-order phase transitions.     

Source velocity at relativistic beams of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He

The source velocities (β = ν/c) extracted from rapidity plots of the fragment invariant probability distribution in terms of the longitudinal versus transversal velocity components has been studied for ⁴He + Au collisions at 4 and 14.6 GeV. It was found transition from broad range source velocities distribution in case of ⁴He(4 GeV) + Au to fixed source velocity in case of ⁴He(14.6 GeV) + Au.     

Orientation effect on superfluid <Superscript>3</Superscript>He in anisotropic aerogel

The orientation of the order parameter in the A-like and B-like phases of superfluid ³He immersed in uniaxially compressed aerogel is reported. With the use of NMR methods, it is found that the orbital momentum of the A-and B-like phases is oriented along the deformation. In the A-like phase, a relatively narrow NMR line with an anomalously large negative frequency shift is observed. The Leggett frequency in the A-like phase, which shows the same energy gap suppression as in the B-like phase, is measured. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Momentum distributions of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He nuclei from the <Superscript>6</Superscript>He and <Superscript>6</Superscript>Li breakup

Experimental data on the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei originating from ⁶He and ⁶Li breakup on various targets are presented over a wide beam energy range. The experiment with ⁶He was performed at the DRIBs accelerator complex for radioactive beams at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The intensity of the ⁶He beam used was 5 × 10⁶ particles per second and its energy was 10 MeV per nucleon. The momentum distributions of breakup products were measured by means of the MSP-144 magnetic spectrometer. The distribution width was shown to be virtually independent of the target mass. A small value of this width, σ ～ 28 MeV/c, confirms the presence of a halo in ⁶He. The measurements performed with ⁶Li beams of energy 18 and 46 MeV per nucleon at the U-400M accelerator yielded a width value of σ ～ 50 MeV/c for the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei, which is intermediate between that for ⁶He and those for stable nuclei. A compilation of the widths of the momentum distributions of fragments originating from the breakup of various nuclei is presented versus the binding energy of one or two neutrons in these nuclei, the target mass and the projectile energy.     

Analysis of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He+<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ca and <Superscript>4</Superscript>He+<Superscript>44</Superscript>Ti scattering using different optical model potentials

Elastic scattering of ⁴He+⁴⁰Ca and ⁴He+⁴⁴Ti reactions at backward angles has been analyzed using two differentmodels, microscopic and semimicroscopic folding potentials. The derived real potentials supplemented with phenomenological Woods–Saxon imaginary potentials, provide good agreement with the experimental data at energy E_c.m. = 21.8 MeV without need to renormalize the potentials. Coupledchannels calculations are used to extract the inelastic scattering cross section to the low-lying state 2+ (1.083 MeV) of ⁴⁴Ti. The deformation length is obtained and compared with the electromagnetic measurement values as well as those obtained from previous studies.     

Recent results on hyperpolarized<Superscript>3</Superscript>He−<Superscript>4</Superscript>He liquid mixtures

Laser optical pumping in low magnetic field provides very high nuclear polarizations in gaseous helium mixtures, and is used to prepare polarized liquid. Wall relaxation in glass cells is effiently reduced using cesium coatings, and bulk longitudinal relaxation times are measured. In highly magnetized samples, dipolar fields control the spin dynamics in anisotropic volumes and weak external magnetic field inhomogeneities. Long lived magnetostatic modes are observed by pulsed NMR. Detailed analysis of their frequency and damping gives information on magnetization density and spin diffusion coefficient in polarized mixtures. Experiments are performed above 0.2 K on mixtures with³He concentrations of order a few percents or larger. When phase separation occurs, the³He-rich phase retains a high polarization.     

Phase analysis of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He-<Superscript>4</Superscript>He scattering at energies of 40–50 MeV

A phase analysis of ⁴He-⁴He elastic scattering is performed for energies of 40–50 MeV. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 74–79, June, 2007.     

Low-temperature anomalies of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He crystals

Low-temperature anomalies of hcp ⁴He crystals (mass decoupling from a torsional oscillator, shear modulus anomaly, dissipation peaks, and heat capacity peak) are explained. A simple model based on the concept of resonant tunneling systems in imperfect crystals is proposed. Mass decoupling is caused by an internal Josephson effect: the mass supercurrent inside phase coherent tunneling systems. Quantitative results are in reasonable agreement with experiments.     

Appearance of anomalous phase in <Superscript>4</Superscript>He crystal in the presence of small <Superscript>3</Superscript>He impurity

The kinetics of formation of an anomalous phase from a solution with a small ³He impurity was studied in the temperature range 0.2–0.7 K up to a supersaturation of ～30 mbar. The phase diagram was determined for normal and anomalous growths. It is found that, in the presence of impurities, the formation of a fast-growing state is retarded. This experimental fact indicates that the dissipative processes in fluids have an appreciable effect on the phase formation kinetics. The retardation is, possibly, caused by the direct interaction of an impurity with the crystal surface.     

Flow of 2D atomic hydrogen over the surface of liquid <Superscript>4</Superscript>He

Experimental evidence has been obtained for the hydrodynamic flow of a 2D gas of hydrogen atoms adsorbed on the surface of liquid helium. The observed flow manifestations are consistent with the concepts of the quantum hydrodynamics of the helium surface. This circumstance allows both investigation of the interaction of 2D hydrogen with ripplons and surface ³He quasiparticles and possible future observation of the superfluidity of the 2D Bose gas of hydrogen atoms. The experimental results on thermal compression make it possible to estimate the characteristic times of the transfer of longitudinal momentum between the subsystems of hydrogen and ³He atoms bound to the surface (τ_H3), as well as from ripplons to the substrate (τ_R). The value τ_H3 ～ 4 × 10^?8 s agrees with a value calculated using the mean-field parameter U₃₀ for the interaction of hydrogen atoms with the ground surface state of ³He. At the same time, τ_R is more than an order of magnitude shorter than the value obtained in experiments by Mantz et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 44, 66 (1980) [Erratum: Phys. Rev. Lett. 44, 1094 (1980)]. This discrepancy can be attributed to the dependence of the ripplon momentum relaxation rate on the substrate roughness scale.     

Nonlinear NMR in a superfluid B phase of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He in aerogel

The properties of liquid ³He in a low-density aerogel preliminarily covered with a few monolayers of ⁴He were studied by pulsed and nonlinear CW NMR techniques. It was found that an NMR frequency shift from the Larmor value exhibits a sharp increase at a magnetization tilting angle exceeding 104°. Nonlinear CW NMR signals related to the formation of a macroscopic region featuring homogeneous precession of the magnetization (homogeneous precession domain) were observed. The experimental results confirm that the low-temperature superfluid ³He phase in the aerogel is analogous to the B-phase in bulk ³He and indicate that the spin supercurrents play an important role in the spin dynamics of superfluid ³He in aerogel.     

Fine structure of the muonic <Superscript>4</Superscript>He ion

On the basis of quasi-potential approach to the bound state problem in QED we calculate the vacuum polarization, recoil and structure corrections of orders α⁵ and α⁶ to the fine splitting interval ΔE ^fs = E(2P _3/2) − E(2P _1/2) in muonic ₂⁴He ion. The resulting value ΔE ^fs = 146180.68 μeV provides reliable guideline in performing a comparison with the relevant experimental data.     

Kinetics of the sorption of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He by C<Subscript>60</Subscript> fullerite. The quantum diffusion of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He and <Superscript>4</Superscript>He in fullerite

The kinetics of the sorption and subsequent desorption of gaseous ³He in a C₆₀ fullerite powder has been studied in the temperature range of 2–292 K. The temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He impurities in fullerite have been plotted using the measured characteristic times of filling of octahedral and tetrahedral interstices, as well as previous data. These temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He impurities in fullerite are qualitatively similar. A decrease in the temperature from 292 to 79 K is accompanied by a decrease in the diffusion coefficients, which corresponds to the dominance of the thermally activated diffusion of helium isotopes in fullerite. A further decrease in the temperature to 8–10 K leads to an increase in the diffusion coefficients by more than an order of magnitude. The diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He are independent of the temperature below 8 K, indicating the tunnel character of the diffusion of helium in C₆₀ fullerite. The isotope effect is manifested in the difference between the absolute values of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He atoms at the same temperatures.     

Fermion zero modes at the boundary of superfluid <Superscript>3</Superscript>He-B

Superfluid ³He-B belongs to the important special class of time-reversal invariant topological superfluids. It has Majorana fermions as edge states on the surface of bulk ³He-B. On the rough wall these fermion zero modes have finite density of states at E = 0. It is possible that Lancaster experiments with a wire vibrating in ³He-B have already probed Majorana fermions living on the surface of the wire.     

Interaction of two magnetic resonance modes in the polar phase of superfluid <Superscript>3</Superscript>He

We report results of low frequency nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments in the superfluid polar phase of ³He, which is stabilized by a new type of “nematic” aerogel—nafen. We have found that an interaction between transverse and longitudinal NMR modes may essentially influence the spin dynamics. Theoretical formulas for NMR resonant frequencies are derived and applied for interpretation of the experimental results.