Probing Bogoliubov Quasiparticles in Superfluid 3He with a ‘Vibrating-Wire Like’ MEMS Device

International audienceWe have measured the interaction between superfluid 3 He-B and a micro-machined goalpost-shaped device at temperatures below 0.2 T c. The measured damping follows well the theory developed for vibrating wires, in which the An-dreev reflection of quasiparticles in the flow field around the moving structure leads to a nonlinear frictional force. At low velocities the damping force is proportional to velocity while it tends to saturate for larger excitations. Above a velocity of 2.6 mms −1 the damping abruptly increases, which is interpreted in terms of Cooper-pair breaking. Interestingly, this critical velocity is significantly lower than reported with other mechanical probes immersed in superfluid 3 He. Furthermore , we report on a nonlinear resonance shape for large motion amplitudes that we interpret as an inertial effect due to quasiparticle friction, but other mechanisms could possibly be invoked as well. PACS numbers: 85.85.+j, 67.30.H-, 67.30.e