Orbital-Flop Transition of Angular Momentum in a Topological Superfluid

Abstract

The direction of the orbital angular momentum of the $B$-phase of superfluid ${}^3$He can be controlled by engineering the anisotropy of the silica aerogel framework within which it is imbibed. In this work, we report our discovery of an unusual and abrupt `orbital-flop' transition of the superfluid angular momentum between orientations perpendicular and parallel to the anisotropy axis. The transition has no hysteresis, warming or cooling, as expected for a continuous thermodynamic transition, and is not the result of a competition between strain and magnetic field. This demonstrates the spontaneous reorientation of the order parameter of an unconventional BCS condensate.

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• The Effect of Magnetic Impurities on Superfluid ${}^3$He in Aerogel
• Magnetic Susceptibility of Andreev Bound States in Superfluid ${}^3$He-B
• Planar and Nematic Aerogels: DLCA and Superfluid 3He