Abstract
We describe experiments on the nucleation and growth of bcc 4He and 3He-4He mixture crystals on several cubic substrates. In the case of pure 4He, the solid does not preferentially nucleate nor does it wet the substrates even when the lattice match is very close. In our view, the absence of preferential nucleation and wetting is a consequence of the interaction between the substrate and the He solid being excessively strong. In the case of mixture crystals, preferential nucleation is observed on a CsCl substrate. Even without preferential nucleation, complete wetting of all the substrates is observed. We suggest that the addition of 3He lowers the crystal-substrate interface energy due to a lower shear modulus of the mixture solid. The microscopic origin of this effect remains a puzzle.
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Markovitz, T., Polturak, E. Nucleation and Growth of bcc 4He and of 3He-4He Crystals on Cubic Substrates. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 123, 53–63 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017593414839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017593414839