Vortex formation in neutron-irradiated superfluid 3He as an analogue of cosmological defect formation

Autor:	Matti Krusius, Vladimir Eltsov, V. M. H. Ruutu, A. J. Gill, Yu. G. Makhlin, Grigory Volovik, Tom W.B. Kibble, Bernard Plaçais, Wen Xu
Rok vydání:	1996
Předmět:	Condensed Matter::Quantum Gases Kibble-Zurek mechanism Physics Superfluidity Nuclear reaction Phase transition Multidisciplinary Condensed matter physics Condensed Matter::Other Nucleation Neutron Vortex Vortex ring
Zdroj:	Nature. 382:334-336
ISSN:	1476-4687 0028-0836
Popis:	We report the observation of vortex formation upon the absorption of a thermal neutron in a rotating container of superfluid $^3$He-B. The nuclear reaction n + $^3$He = p + $^3$H + 0.76MeV heats a cigar shaped region of the superfluid into the normal phase. The subsequent cooling of this region back through the superfluid transition results in the nucleation of quantized vortices. Depending on the superflow velocity, sufficiently large vortex rings grow under the influence of the Magnus force and escape into the container volume where they are detected individually with nuclear magnetic resonance. The larger the superflow velocity the smaller the rings which can expand. Thus it is possible to obtain information about the morphology of the initial defect network. We suggest that the nucleation of vortices during the rapid cool-down into the superfluid phase is similar to the formation of defects during cosmological phase transitions in the early universe.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::bdfb46b871a9a59a3aa348658c6c0a2d https://doi.org/10.1038/382334a0 Zobrazit plný text záznamu