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Physical Review Letters

Superfluidity of a Spin-½ Bose Fluid: Spin-Polarized Hydrogen

Tin-Lun Ho

Published Dec 20, 1982• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It is shown here that superfluids (such as $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-$A$ and Bose-condensed spin-polarized hydrogen) whose order parameters transform like an angular momentum eigenstate $|j, m\ensuremath{\ne}0〉$ will have similar superfluidity---similar Josephson and vorticity equations. In particular, if spin-polarized hydrogen condenses into the $b$ state as currently believed, it will not have a stable superflow. Nonuniform magnetic fields can also induce in it a persistent current similar to that of $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-$A$.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.49.1837

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It is shown here that superfluids (such as 3He^{3}\mathrm{He}3He-AAA and Bose-condensed spin-polarized hydrogen) whose order parameters transform like an angular momentum eigenstate ∣j,m\ensuremath≠0〉|j, m\ensuremath{\ne}0〉∣j,m\ensuremath=0〉 will have similar superfluidity---similar Josephson and vorticity equations. In particular, if spin-polarized hydrogen condenses into the bbb state as currently believed, it will not have a stable superflow. Nonuniform magnetic fields can also induce in it a persistent current similar to that of 3He^{3}\mathrm{He}3He-AAA.
Spin-polarized atomic hydrogen continues to be one of the most promising candidates for Bose condensation of an atomic system. In contrast to liquid helium, hydrogen is gaseous and therefore its density can be changed to vary its behavior from the weakly to the strongly interacting Bose gas. Until now, efforts to Bose condense hydrogen have been thwarted by recombination and relaxation phenomena. After a long introduction to the subject, two promising approaches to observe quantum degenerate behavior are discussed: the microwave trap and a two-dimensional gas of hydrogen. Introduction Since the stabilization of atomic hydrogen as a spin-polarized gas (H↓), reported in 1980 [1], there has been a continuous effort to observe Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) or other effects of quantum degeneracy in this Bose gas. This challenge has not yet been realized due to the instability of H↓ towards recombination to H 2 or relaxation among hyperfine states as the conditions for BEC are approached. Although this difficulty is formidable, hydrogen presents a unique opportunity to study BEC and the related superfluidity, as it remains a gas to T = 0 [2]. By comparison, 4 He, the only experimentally observed boson fluid, is a strongly interacting superfluid Bose liquid, with little flexibility for varying its density. As a result of the gaseous nature of hydrogen, its density, n , can be varied over several orders of magnitude with the possibility of studying BEC and its relationship to superfluidity, ranging from the weakly to the strongly interacting boson gas.
A comprehensive discussion of the properties of atomic hydrogen polarized in the magnetic field generated by a current circulating in a superconducting wire is presented. The characteristics of the quantum states and the influence of the nonuniformity in the field are studied in detail. The total and superfluid density profiles are calculated and their main features discussed. The ideas developed here can also be applied to study the effects that other nonuniformities in the magnetic field have on atomic hydrogen.
Under applied magnetic field, the originally single superfluid 3 He transition near 3 mK in zero field splits into two transitions between which a new A 1 phase emerges. The two second order transitions are marked by abrupt changes in viscosity, zero sound attenuation and nuclear magnetic resonance. To date, the maximum magnetic field for producing A 1 phase is 15 T. The A 1 phase has been identified with a spin-polarized (ferromagnetic) superfluid system which breaks the relative symmetry between spin, orbit and gauge spaces. A superfluid mass current in A 1 is simultaneously a spin current resulting in the propagation of spin-entropy wave. Experiments with spin-entropy wave provide measurements of anisotropic superfluid density and strong coupling parameters, spin diffusion coefficient and texture transformations. Owing to the spin-polarized nature, superflows may be generated by applied magnetic field gradients and measured from the induced magnetic fountain pressure. The mechanical spin density detector is developed to measure the spin relaxation in A 1 phase. The observed unexpected temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time gives evidence that the A 1 phase contains a small amount of the predicted minority spin condensate from dipolar interaction energy.
Since its realization in dilute bosonic atomic gases [], [], Bose-Einstein condensation of alkali atoms and hydrogen has been produced and studied extensively in the laboratory [], and has permitted an intriguing glimpse into the macroscopic quantum world. In view of potential applications [], [], [], the study of quantized vortices, which are well-known signatures of superfluidity, is one of the key issues. In fact, bulk superfluids are distinguished from normal fluids by their ability to support dissipationless flow. Such persistent currents are intimately related to the existence of quantized vortices, which are localized phase singularities with integer topological charge []. The superfluid vortex is an example of a topological defect that is well known in superconductors [] and in liquid helium []. The occurrence of quantized vortices in superfluids has been the focus of fundamental theoretical and experimental work []. Different research groups have obtained quantized vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) experimentally, e.g., the JILA group [], [], the ENS group [] and the MIT group [], []. Currently, there are at least two typical ways to generate quantized vortices from a BEC ground state: (i) impose a laser beam rotating with an angular velocity on the magnetic trap holding the atoms to create a harmonic anisotropic potential [], [], []; or (ii) add to the stationary magnetic trap a narrow, moving Gaussian potential, representing a far-blue detuned laser [], [], [], [], [], [].
Atomic hydrogen (H) has recently been created in a long-lived state referred to as spin-polarized atomic hydrogen (H↓). A moderate density gas (n≃1017 atoms/ cc) has been produced at temperatures T≃400 mK. H↓ is predicted to be the only atomic substance that remains gaseous to T = 0 K; current experiments are consistent with this picture. Since the H↓ atoms behave as composite bosons the gas is expected to have a Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) and related superfluidity at a sufficiently high density or low temperature. H↓ is expected to display spectacular static and dynamic properties. Since the gas is polarized, the dominant electronic magnetization, M⃗e, is proportional to the atomic density. In an inhomogeneous magnetic field M⃗e will also be highly inhomogeneous. BEC will be spatially localized and the static M⃗e should be an identifying feature of this state. The low-lying excitation spectrum should not only feature electronic and nuclear spin-transitions, but should also have magnetic translational modes of the gas. The experimental technique for stabilization of H↓ as well as many of the predicted magnetic properties are discussed.