Comment on some proposed mechanisms for attenuation of third sound

Two explanations have been proposed for an apparent discrepancy between theoretical prediction and experimental measurement of third-sound attenuation. One of these proposes a new "macroscopic quantum uncertainly principle," and the other proceeds via nonlinear, anharmonic effects due to zero-point fluctuations. We argue that neither suggestion is acceptable

Experiments on Quantum and Thermal Desorption from ^4He Films

Desorption of He atoms from thin films may be resolved experimentally into quantum and thermal components. We show that quantum desorption becomes the dominant part of the signal in submonolayer films. We also show that, when all effects of collisions between desorbed atoms are eliminated, quantum desorption is not focused normal to the surface of optically polished sapphire crystals

Ion mobility discontinuities in superfluid helium: A test of the Huang-Olinto theory

A new method has been developed for making sensitive differential measurements of ion mobilities in liquid helium. Using this method, it has been possible to make a definitive test of the part of the Huang-Olinto theory intended to explain discontinuities in ion mobilities in superfluid helium. The theory has been found to be incorrect

Thermal effects on nuclear symmetry energy with a momentum-dependent effective interaction

The knowledge of the nuclear symmetry energy of hot neutron-rich matter is important for understanding the dynamical evolution of massive stars and the supernova explosion mechanisms. In particular, the electron capture rate on nuclei and/or free protons in presupernova explosions is especially sensitive to the symmetry energy at finite temperature. In view of the above, in the present work we calculate the symmetry energy as a function of the temperature for various values of the baryon density, by applying a momentum-dependent effective interaction. In addition to a previous work, the thermal effects are studied separately both in the kinetic part and the interaction part of the symmetry energy. We focus also on the calculations of the mean field potential, employed extensively in heavy ion reaction research, both for nuclear and pure neutron matter. The proton fraction and the electron chemical potential, which are crucial quantities for representing the thermal evolution of supernova and neutron stars, are calculated for various values of the temperature. Finally, we construct a temperature dependent equation of state of $\beta$-stable nuclear matter, the basic ingredient for the evaluation of the neutron star properties.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Measurement of the SOC State Specific Heat in ^4He

When a heat flux Q is applied downward through a sample of liquid 4He near the lambda transition, the helium self organizes such that the gradient in temperature matches the gravity induced gradient in Tlambda. All the helium in the sample is then at the same reduced temperature tSOC = ((T[sub SOC] - T[sub lambda])/T[sub lambda]) and the helium is said to be in the Self-Organized Critical (SOC) state. We have made preliminary measurements of the 4He SOC state specific heat, C[del]T(T(Q)). Despite having a cell height of 2.54 cm, our results show no difference between C[del]T and the zero-gravity 4He specific heat results of the Lambda Point Experiment (LPE) [J.A. Lipa et al., Phys. Rev. B, 68, 174518 (2003)] over the range 250 to 450 nK below the transition. There is no gravity rounding because the entire sample is at the same reduced temperature tSOC(Q). Closer to Tlambda the SOC specific heat falls slightly below LPE, reaching a maximum at approximately 50 nK below Tlambda, in agreement with theoretical predictions [R. Haussmann, Phys. Rev. B, 60, 12349 (1999)]

Melting in multilayer adsorbed films

We present both an improved model and new experimental data concerning the problem of melting in multilayer adsorbed films. The model treats in a mutually consistent manner all interfaces in a stratified film. This results in the prediction of substrate freezing, a phenomenon thermodynamically analogous to surface melting. We also compare the free energies of stratified films to those of homogeneous films. This leads to an orderly classification of multilayer phase diagrams in the vicinity of the bulk triple point. The results of the model are compared with the experimentally known systems. Of these, only methane/graphite exhibits melting from homogeneous solid to homogeneous liquid in multilayer films. The systems Ne/graphite and Ar/graphite, studied by Zhu and Dash, exhibit surface melting and substrate freezing instead. We observe experimentally, by means of pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance, that melting in methane adsorbed on graphite extends below the film thickness at which the latent heat of melting is known to vanish. The multilayer melting curve in this system is a first-order prewetting transition, extending from triple-point dewetting at bulk coexistence down to a critical point where the latent heat vanishes at about four layers, and apparently extending to thinner films as a higher-order, two-dimensional phase transition. It would therefore seem that methane/graphite is an ideal system in which to study the evolution of melting from two dimensions to three dimensions

Effect of Inhomogeneous Heat Flow on the Enhancement of Heat Capacity in Helium-II by Counterflow near Tλ

In 2000 Harter et al. reported the first measurements of the enhancement of the heat capacity ΔCQ[equivalent]C(Q)-C(Q=0) of helium-II transporting a heat flux density Q near Tλ. Surprisingly, their measured ΔCQ was ~7–12 times larger than predicted, depending on which theory was assumed. In this report we present a candidate explanation for this discrepancy: unintended heat flux inhomogeneity. Because C(Q) should diverge at a critical heat flux density Qc, homogeneous heat flow is required for an accurate measurement. We present results from numerical analysis of the heat flow in the Harter et al. cell indicating that substantial inhomogeneity occurred. We determine the effect of the inhomogeneity on ΔCQ and find rough agreement with the observed disparity between prediction and measurement

Enhanced heat capacity and a new temperature instability in superfluid He-4 in the presence of a constant heat flux near T-lambda

We present the first experimental evidence that the heat capacity of superfluid 4He, at temperatures very close to the lambda point Tλ, is enhanced by a constant heat flux Q. The heat capacity at constant Q, CQ, is predicted to diverge at a temperature Tc(Q)<Tλ at which superflow becomes unstable. In agreement with previous measurements, we find that dissipation enters our cell at a temperature, TDAS(Q), below the theoretical value, Tc(Q). We argue that TDAS(Q) can be accounted for by a temperature instability at the cell wall, and is therefore distinct from Tc(Q). The excess heat capacity we measure has the predicted scaling behavior as a function of T and Q, but it is much larger than predicted by current theory

Equation of state for β\beta-stable hot nuclear matter

We provide an equation of state for hot nuclear matter in $\beta$-equilibrium by applying a momentum-dependent effective interaction. We focus on the study of the equation of state of high-density and high-temperature nuclear matter, containing leptons (electrons and muons) under the chemical equilibrium condition in which neutrinos have left the system. The conditions of charge neutrality and equilibrium under $\beta$-decay process lead first to the evaluation of proton and lepton fractions and afterwards of internal energy, free energy, pressure and in total to the equation of state of hot nuclear matter. Thermal effects on the properties and equation of state of nuclear matter are assesed and analyzed in the framework of the proposed effective interaction model. Special attention is dedicated to the study of the contribution of the components of $\beta$-stable nuclear matter to the entropy per particle, a quantity of great interest for the study of structure and collapse of supernova.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figure