Possible role of 3He impurities in solid 4He

We use a quantum lattice gas model to describe essential aspects of the motion of 4He atoms and of 3He impurities in solid 4He. This study suggests that 3He impurities bind to defects and promote 4He atoms to interstitial sites which can turn the bosonic quantum disordered crystal into a metastable supersolid. It is suggested that defects and interstitial atoms are produced during the solid 4He nucleation process where the role of 3He impurities (in addition to the cooling rate) is known to be important even at very small (1 ppm) impurity concentration. It is also proposed that such defects can form a glass phase during the 4He solid growth by rapid cooling.Comment: 4 two-column Revtex pages, 4 figures. Europhysics Letters (in Press

Absence of Pressure-Driven Supersolid Flow at Low Frequency

An important unresolved question in supersolid research is the degree to which the non-classical rotational inertia (NCRI) phenomenon observed in the torsional oscillator experiments of Kim and Chan, is evidence for a Bose-condensed supersolid state with superfluid-like properties. In an open annular geometry, Kim and Chan found that a fraction of the solid moment of inertia is decoupled from the motion of the oscillator; however, when the annulus is blocked by a partition, the decoupled supersolid fraction is locked to the oscillator being accelerated by an AC pressure gradient generated by the moving partition. These observations are in accord with superfluid hydrodynamics. We apply a low frequency AC pressure gradient in order to search for a superfluid-like response in a supersolid sample. Our results are consistent with zero supersolid flow in response to the imposed low frequency pressure gradient. A statistical analysis of our data sets a bound, at the 68% confidence level, of 9.6$\times 10^{-4}$ nm/s for the mass transport velocity carried by a possible supersolid flow. In terms of a simple model for the supersolid, an upper bound of 3.3$\times 10^{-6}$ is set for the supersolid fraction at 25 mK, at this same confidence level. These findings force the conclusion that the NCRI observed in the torsional oscillator experiments is not evidence for a frequency independent superfluid-like state. Supersolid behavior is a frequency-dependent phenomenon, clearly evident in the frequency range of the torsional oscillator experiments, but undetectably small at frequencies approaching zero.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The effect of disorder on the critical temperature of a dilute hard sphere gas

We have performed Path Integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) calculations to determine the effect of quenched disorder on the superfluid density of a dilute 3D hard sphere gas. The disorder was introduced by locating set of hard cylinders randomly inside the simulation cell. Our results indicate that the disorder leaves the superfluid critical temperature basically unchanged. Comparison to experiments of helium in Vycor is made.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Heat Capacity of ^3He in Aerogel

The heat capacity of pure ^3He in low density aerogel is measured at 22.5 bar. The superfluid response is simultaneously monitored with a torsional oscillator. A slightly rounded heat capacity peak, 65 mu K in width, is observed at the ^3He-aerogel superfluid transition, T_{ca}. Subtracting the bulk ^3He contribution, the heat capacity shows a Fermi-liquid form above T_{ca}. The heat capacity attributed to superfluid within the aerogel can be fit with a rounded BCS form, and accounts for 0.30 of the non-bulk fluid in the aerogel, indicating a substantial reduction in the superfluid order parameter consistent with earlier superfluid density measurements.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Study of Supersolidity and Shear Modulus Anomaly of 4He in a Triple Compound Oscillator

The recently discovered shear modulus anomaly in solid 4He bears a strong similarity to the phenomenon of supersolidity in solid 4He and can lead to the period shift and dissipative signals in torsional oscillator experiments that are nearly identical to the classic NCRI signals observed by Kim and Chan. In the experiments described here, we attempt to isolate the effects of these two phenomena on the resonance periods of torsion oscillators. We have constructed a triple compound oscillator with distinct normal modes. We are able to demonstrate that, for this oscillator, the period shifts observed below 200 mK have their primary origin in the temperature dependence of the shear modulus of the solid 4He sample rather than the formation of a supersolid state

Vortex Fluid State below an Onset Temperature T_0 of Solid 4He

Detailed studies of AC velocity Vac and temperature dependence of torsional oscillator responses of solid 4He are reported. A characteristic onset temperature T0 about 0.5 K is found, below which a significant Vac dependent change occurs in the energy dissipation for the sample at 32 bar. A Vac dependence of the non-classical rotational inertia fraction, NCRIF also appears below about T0. This value of T0 excludes the possible explanation of supersolid by liquid superfluidity in grain boundaries or other liquid related origins. The log(Vac) linear dependence was found in NCRIF. Furthermore, this linear slope changes in proportion to 1/T 2 for 40 < Vac < 400 micro-m/s, then crosses over to about 1/T for larger Vac. We discuss properties of the vortex fluid state proposed by Anderson above Tc, below T0.Comment: 4pages,4 figure

Ideal Bose gas in fractal dimensions and superfluid 4^4He in porous media

Physical properties of ideal Bose gas with the fractal dimensionality between D=2 and D=3 are theoretically investigated. Calculation shows that the characteristic features of the specific heat and the superfluid density of ideal Bose gas in fractal dimensions are strikingly similar to those of superfluid Helium-4 in porous media. This result indicates that the geometrical factor is dominant over mutual interactions in determining physical properties of Helium-4 in porous media.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure