Nucleation and Interfacial Coupling between Pure and Dirty Superfluid Phases of 3He

Abstract

The nucleation of the first order phase transition of superfluid 3He-B from superfluid 3He-A is quite remarkable since it requires a seed of the order of a micron. We have studied this nucleation for 3He confined to a very dilute silica aerogel. This dirty superfluid behaves in a manner similar to previous reports for the pure superfluid. But we have discovered a novel magnetically driven nucleation switch acting on the pure superfluid B-phase. Lastly, we find the surprising result that the proximity effect between the pure and dirty superfluids at their interface is insufficient to nucleate the B-phase in either superfluid.

4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letters

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Phase Diagram of the Superfluid Phases of 3He in 98% Aerogel
• Impurity Effects on the A_1-A_2 Splitting of Superfluid 3He in Aerogel
• New Phases of Superfluid ${}^3$He Confined in Aerogels