Effects of heat flux on λ-transition in liquid 4He

This paper is concerned with the derivation of a phase field model for λ-transition in ⁴He, when the liquid is subject to pressure and heat flux. As parameter that controls the transition, a field f that is the geometrical mean between the density of the fluid and that of the superfluid is used. The resulting model, that is a generalization of previous papers on the same subject, chooses as field variables the density, the velocity, the temperature and the heat flux, in addition to this field f. The restrictions on the constitutive quantities are obtained by using the Liu method of Lagrange multipliers. New results with respect to previous models are the presence of non-local terms to describe inhomogeneities in the field variables and dissipative effects of mechanical and thermal origin, and the fact that the model describes the behaviour of the liquid also far from the λ-transition region.     

Second sound near lambda transition in presence of quantum vortices

In this paper, temperature waves (also known as second sound) are considered, with their respective coupling with waves in the order parameter describing the transition from normal phase to superfluid phase, and with waves in the vortex length density. We analyze the coupling between these three kinds of waves and explore its relevance in situations not far from the lambda transition. In particular, the expressions for the second sound speed and second sound attenuation are explicitly obtained within some approximations, showing the influence of the order parameter and the vortex length density, which is decisive close to the transition.