Abstract
Quantum nucleation of solid4He from superfluid4He is discussed on the basis of a simple isotropic model. The nucleation rate is evaluated in the semiclassical WKB approximation developed earlier by Lifshitz and Kagan. The rate very strongly depends on the magnitude of overpressurization. The effect of a substrate that is characterized by a surface tension is examined; since the substrate reduces the liquid kinetic energy, the nucleation rate is substantially increased when the contact angle is small. The same method is applied to the two-dimensional nucleation of a new atomic layer on a singular face, with the result that the rate is very small under usual conditions.
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This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under the Materials Research Laboratory Grant DMR-80-20250 and the Division of Materials Sciences, Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-76ER01198.
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Uwaha, M. Quantum nucleation of solids. J Low Temp Phys 52, 15–30 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00681261
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00681261