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Physics

Looking Inside the Superfluid Helium-3 Universe

V. B. Eltsov

Published May 25, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Looking Inside the Superfluid Helium-3 UniverseA camera that can capture the internal structure of superfluid helium-3 will improve our understanding of the turbulent motion of quantum fluids.By Vladimir Eltsov W hen liquid helium-3 is cooled to millikelvin temperatures, it transitions into a state of matter called a superfluid.From the outside, superfluid helium-3 looks like a simple, transparent medium.Nevertheless, its internal structure is extremely rich and is often described as "the Universe in a droplet" [1].In helium-3, some atoms collectively play the role of the quantum vacuum-the

DOI
10.1103/physics.15.76

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Looking Inside the Superfluid Helium-3 UniverseA camera that can capture the internal structure of superfluid helium-3 will improve our understanding of the turbulent motion of quantum fluids.By Vladimir Eltsov W hen liquid helium-3 is cooled to millikelvin temperatures, it transitions into a state of matter called a superfluid.From the outside, superfluid helium-3 looks like a simple, transparent medium.Nevertheless, its internal structure is extremely rich and is often described as "the Universe in a droplet" [1].In helium-3, some atoms collectively play the role of the quantum vacuum-the
Free superfluid helium droplets constitute a versatile medium for a diverse range of experiments in physics and chemistry that extend from studies of the fundamental laws of superfluid motion to the synthesis of novel nanomaterials. In particular, the emergence of quantum vortices in rotating helium droplets is one of the most dramatic hallmarks of superfluidity and gives detailed access to the wave function describing the quantum liquid. This review provides an introduction to quantum vorticity in helium droplets, followed by a historical account of experiments on vortex visualization in bulk superfluid helium and a more detailed discussion of recent advances in the study of the rotational motion of isolated, nano- to micrometer-scale superfluid helium droplets. Ultrafast X-ray and extreme ultraviolet scattering techniques enabled by X-ray free-electron lasers and high-order harmonic generation in particular have facilitated the in situ detection of droplet shapes and the imaging of vortex structures inside individual, isolated droplets. New applications of helium droplets ranging from studies of quantum phase separations to mechanisms of low-temperature aggregation are discussed.
Many microscopic properties of the only natural superfluid element helium have become available within the last 18 years through a number of novel experiments. The diffraction of matter-waves of small helium clusters has established the unusually large bond distance (5.2 nm) and extremely weak binding energy (10−7 eV) of the dimer and other exotic properties of small helium clusters. The high-resolution spectroscopy of closed-shell chromophore molecules attached to small clusters or embedded inside large superfluid droplets have revealed that as a result of superfluidity, molecules rotate virtually without friction and that only a handful of He atoms are required for microscopic superfluidity. The frictionless translational motion of atoms and molecules inside the droplets has also been observed. These and a number of other experiments demonstrate that helium droplets are the most gentle and coldest of all cryomatrices with enormous potential for a wide range of future applications.
What is the minimum number of atoms needed for superfluidity? According to the results of a remarkable molecular spectroscopy experiment, there is definite proof that a system of only 60 atoms can be superfluid. Slava Grebencv and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Göttingen, Germany, found that small molecules dissolved in droplets of liquid helium can rotate freely, just like they do in a vacuum (S Grebencv, J P Tocnnies and A Vilesov 1998 Science 279 2083). The molecules rotate freely because the surrounding helium is a "superfluid" – a liquid without viscosity. In effect, the liquid helium acts as a vacuum.