Abstract
Because of the extreme purity, lack of disorder, and complex order parameter, the first-order superfluid 3He A–B transition is the leading model system for first order transitions in the early universe. Here we report on the path dependence of the supercooling of the A phase over a wide range of pressures below 29.3 bar at nearly zero magnetic field. The A phase can be cooled significantly below the thermodynamic A–B transition temperature. While the extent of supercooling is highly reproducible, it depends strongly upon the cooling trajectory: The metastability of the A phase is enhanced by transiting through regions where the A phase is more stable. We provide evidence that some of the additional supercooling is due to the elimination of B phase nucleation precursors formed upon passage through the superfluid transition. A greater understanding of the physics is essential before 3He can be exploited to model transitions in the early universe.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 148 |
| Journal | Nature communications |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2023 |
Funding
This work was supported at Cornell by the NSF under DMR-2002692 (J.M.P.), PHY-2110250 (E.M.), and in the UK by EPSRC under EP/J022004/1 and by STFC under ST/T00682X/1 (M.H., J.S., K.Z.). In addition, the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grant Agreement no 824109 (J.S.). Fabrication was carried out at the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) with assistance and advice from technical staff. The CNF is a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), which is supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant NNCI-1542081).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy