Breakdown of sound in superfluid helium

Like elementary particles carry energy and momentum in the Universe, quasiparticles are the elementary carriers of energy and momentum quanta in condensed matter. And, like elementary particles, under certain conditions quasiparticles can be unstable and decay, emitting pairs of less energetic ones. Pitaevskii proposed that such processes exist in superfluid helium, a quantum fluid where the very concept of quasiparticles was borne, and which provided the first spectacular triumph of that concept. Pitaevskii's decays have important consequences, including possible breakdown of a quasiparticle. Here, we present neutron scattering experiments, which provide evidence that such decays explain the collapsing lifetime (strong damping) of higher-energy phonon-roton sound-wave quasiparticles in superfluid helium. This damping develops when helium is pressurized towards crystallization or warmed towards approaching the superfluid transition. Our results resolve a number of puzzles posed by previous experiments and reveal the ubiquity of quasiparticle decays and their importance for understanding quantum matter.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures main text; 11 supplementary pages with 8 supplementary figure

A new inelastic neutron spectrometer HODACA

A new multiplex-type inelastic neutron scattering spectrometer, HOrizontally Defocusing Analyzer Concurrent data Acquisition spectrometer (HODACA), was recently developed and built at the C1-1 cold neutron beam port in JRR-3. The spectrometer is suitable for dynamics measurements in the energy range of $-1$ meV $\lesssim \hbar \omega \lesssim$ 7 meV, catering to a broad array of research fields in physics and material science. HODACA combines 24 detectors and 132 pieces of analyzer crystals and has an estimated measurement efficiency that is 70 times greater than the existing conventional triple-axis spectrometer at the C1-1 beam port. The concept, design, specification, and results of commissioning experiments are described.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure