Physical Review Letters

Evaporation from Superfluid Helium

Milton W. Cole

Published Jun 19, 1972• 36 citations

Abstract

We calculate the angular and spectral distribution of atoms evaporating from superfluid helium using a kinetic-theory description of the liquid quasiparticles. Phase-space analysis indicates that the evaporation spectrum exhibits information about the single-particle properties of the liquid, but in particular does not manifest the quasiparticle density of states. The latter conclusion is in agreement with recent experimental results.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.28.1622

Related papers

Quantum evaporation from superfluid helium at normal incidence

F. Dalfovo, M. Guilleumas, A. Lastri +2 more

We study the scattering of atoms, rotons and phonons at the free surface of at normal incidence and calculate the evaporation, condensation and reflection probabilities. Assuming elastic one-to-one processes and using general properties of the scattering matrix, such as unitarity and time reversal, we argue that all nonzero probabilities can be written in terms of a single energy-dependent parameter. Quantitative predictions are obtained using linearized time-dependent density functional theory.

arXiv:cond-mat/9612042Journal of Physics Condensed MatterJun 16, 19976 citations

Self-consistent calculation of the spectrum of quasiparticles in a superfluid Bose liquid with a quenched Bose–Einstein condensate

Ernst A. Pashitskii, S. I. Vilchinskiĭ, Stefan V. Mashkevich

An iterative method is used in a self-consistent calculation, at T=0, of the normal Σ11 and anomalous Σ12 self-energy parts, the boson polarization operator Π on the “mass shell,” and the quasiparticle spectrum E(p) in a superfluid Bose liquid with an interaction-quenched single-particle Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). The calculation is based on a system of “truncated” integral equations for Σ11 and Σ12 with allowance for terms of first order in the density n0/n≪1 of the BEC and with the “bare” interaction between bosons taken in the form of the repulsive pseudopotential in the “semitransparent spheres” model, for which the Fourier component of the pseudopotential is an oscillatory sign-varying function of the momentum transfer. By fitting with a single adjustable parameter—the amplitude of the initial repulsive pseudopotential—one can achieve completely satisfactory agreement of the theoretical quasiparticle spectrum E(p) with the measured spectrum of elementary excitations in superfluid helium from neutron-scattering experiments over a wide momentum range (0⩽p⩽pmax≃4 Å−1).

Low Temperature PhysicsFeb 1, 20028 citations

The role of pair correlations in the formation of the ground state and the elementary excitation spectrum in a superfluid Bose liquid (A Review)

Ernst A. Pashitskii

The paradoxes and disparities in the contemporary microscopic theory of superfluid helium (He–II) are discussed along with possible ways of resolving them by taking pair correlations of He4 atoms into consideration. It is shown that most paradoxes are associated with the commonly accepted initial assumption concerning the dominating role of single-particle Bose condensate (SPBC) in the quantum microstructure of the superfluid component ρs. The existence of intensive SPBC leads to a strong hybridization of the elementary excitation branches and to a common dispersion law for all boson branches, which is identified with the quasiparticle spectrum E(p) observed experimentally from slow neutron scattering in liquid helium. However, the stability of this spectrum during a transition through the λ-point and the large value of the gap in the vicinity of the “rotonic” minimum contradict both the Landau theoretical criterion of superfluidity and the small value of experimentally measured critical velocity. At the same time, a strong interaction between particles in the Bose liquid He4 strongly suppresses the SPBC which amounts to less than 1% of all He4 atoms and hence cannot be the main constituent of the superfluid component, unlike the case of a weakly nonideal Bose gas. Moreover, for a quite strong attraction between particles in a certain region of the momentum space, bound pairs of bosons can be formed in the superfluid Bose liquid, and a coherent pair condensate (CPC) analogous to the Cooper pair condensate in superconductors may appear. Such a strong CPC may completely suppress the weak SPBC. In this case, the one-particle spectrum ε(p) of elementary excitations does not hybridize with the collective (two-particle) spectrum and does not appear in the structure of the dynamic form factor S(p,ε), i.e., does not coincide with the spectrum measured from neutron scattering. The dispersion of one-particle spectrum is defined by the momentum dependence of the pair order parameter Ψ̃(p) and may have a minimum or a point of inflection at p≠0. This peculiarity in the one-particle spectrum of a Bose liquid with CPC but without SPBC vanishes together with Ψ̃(p) at the temperature Tc=Tλ of the phase transition from the superfluid to the normal state (unlike the rotonic minimum in the collective spectrum), while the corresponding critical velocity vc=min[ε(p)/p] vanishes at the λ-point in accordance with the Landau criterion and the experimental data. The assumption that the strong “Cooper-like” CPC is responsible for the quantum structure of the superfluid component ρs is confirmed indirectly by the successful application of the Justrow approximation (based on strong pair correlations) for describing the properties of liquid He4 and quantum liquid mixtures He3–4He on one hand, and by an anomalously large effective mass of He3 impurity atoms in He4, which is approximately equal to total mass of He3 and He4 atoms, thus pointing to the existence of helium atoms in superfluid liquid He–II. The value of the superfluid velocity circulation quantum in the Onsager–Feynman vortices in a Bose liquid with CPC but without SPBC is discussed as well as the critical velocities of superfluid He4 in ultrathin films and channels in which the creation and motion of quantum vortices are ruled out, and the quasiparticle spectrum undergoes dimensional quantization.

Low Temperature PhysicsFeb 1, 199914 citations

Quantum evaporation reveals Bose condensate in superfluid helium

Paul E. Sokol

Superfluidity in liquid helium ranks as one of the most fascinating discoveries in physics this century Helium, which liquefies at 4–5 K, behaves as a conventional liquid just below the condensation point, but undergoes a phase transition when the temperature is lowered to about 2.2 K. In this new phase, known as the superfluid phase, both the viscosity and thermal conductivity of the liquid drop to zero.

Physics WorldMar 1, 19980 citations

Bose-Einstein Condensation in Liquid Helium

Paul E. Sokol

Liquid helium is the prototypical example of a superfluid – a liquid that flows without viscosity and transfers heat without a temperature gradient. These properties are intimately related to the Bose condensation that occurs in this strongly interacting liquid. Bose condensation is most directly observed in the single particle atomic momentum distribution, where the Bose condensate appears as a delta function singularity. In this article, we discuss the experimental techniques used to observe the condensate and the current status of measurments of the Bose condensate in liquid helium. Introduction Liquid helium ( 4 He) has fascinated physicists ever since Kammerlingh-Onnes liquified the last of the so called permanent gases in 1908. However, evidence of what is without doubt the most fascinating property of this unique liquid, superfluidity, was not reported until almost 25 years later [1]. The superfluid phase, where heat is transferred without a thermal gradient and mass flows without a driving pressure, is a macroscopic manifestation of microscopic quantum effects governing the behavior of atoms [2]. Bose–Einstein condensation was first proposed by London [3] as the microscopic explanation for these fascinating phenomena. Helium is unique among condensed atomic systems since the bulk properties of the liquid are dominated by quantum effects. The most important of these are the statistical effects that arise for identical particles. For bosons, such as 4 He atoms, there is no limitation on the number of particles that can occupy a single quantum state.

Cambridge University Press eBooksApr 6, 199569 citations

Helium Nanodroplets: Formation, Physical Properties and Superfluidity

Jan Peter Toennies

Abstract In this introductory chapter, we begin by informing the reader about the fascinating history of superfluidity in bulk liquid helium. This is followed by relating attempts in using liquid helium as a low temperature matrix for spectroscopy. After a brief review of the thermodynamic properties of helium in Sect. 1.2, the different types of free jet expansions used in experiments to produce clusters and nanodroplets of different sizes are described in Sect. 1.3. First it is shown how they depend on the nature and location in the phase diagram of the isentropes which determine the course of the expansion. Depending on the four regimes of isentropes, different number sizes and distributions are expected. Next in Sect. 1.4, the results of theoretical and, where available, experimental results on the total energies, excited states, radial density distributions, and temperatures of clusters and droplets are discussed. Finally, in Sect. 1.5 the theoretical and experimental evidence for the superfluidity of nanodroplets is briefly reviewed. For more information on the production and characteristics of nanodroplets, the reader is referred to the chapters in this book and to the reviews in Appendix.

Topics in applied physicsJan 1, 202213 citations