Abstract
Zurek suggestedNature 317 , 505; 1985) that the Kibble mechanism, through which topological defects such as cosmic strings are believed to have been created in the early Universe, can also result in the formation of topological defects in liquid 4 He, i.e. quantised vortices, during rapid quenches through the superfluid transition. Preliminary experiments (Hendry et al., Nature 368 , 315; 1994) seemed to support this idea in that the quenches produced the predicted high vortex-densities. The present paper describes a new experiment incorporating a redesigned expansion cell that minimises vortex creation arising from conventional hydrodynamic flow. The post-quench line-densities of vorticity produced by the new cell are no more than 10 10 m −2 , a value that is at least two orders of magnitude less than the theoretical prediction. We conclude that most of the vortices detected in the original experiment must have been created through conventional flow processes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
A. J. Gill, Contemp. Phys. 39, 13 (1998).
T. W. B. Kibble, J. Phys. A 9, 1387 (1976).
W. H. Zurek, Nature 317, 505 (1985).
W. H. Zurek, Acta Physica Polonica B 24, 1301 (1993).
W. H. Zurek, Phys. Rep. 276, (1996).
I. Chuang, N. Turok, and B. Yurke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2472 (1991); I. Chuang, R. Durrer, N. Turok, and B. Yurke, Science 251, 1336 (1991).
M. J. Bowick, L. Chander, E. A. Schiff, and A. M. Srivastava, Science 263, 943 (1994).
P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, R. A. M. Lee, P. V. E. McClintock, and C. D. H. Williams, Nature 368, 315 (1994).
C. Bäuerle, Y. M. Bunkov, S. N. Fisher, H. Godfrin, and G. R. Pickett, Nature 382, 332 (1996).
M. H. Ruutu, V. B. Eltsov, A. J. Gill, T. W. B. Kibble, M. Krusius, Y. G. Makhlin, B. Placais, G. E. Volovik, and W. Xu, Nature 382, 334 (1996).
M. E. Dodd, P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, P. V. E. McClintock and C. D. H. Williams, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3703 (1998).
H. E. Hall and W. F. Vinen, Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 238, 204 & 215 (1956).
W. F. Vinen, Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 240, 114 & 128 (1957).
W. F. Vinen, Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 242, 493 (1957).
R. J. Donnelly, Quantized Vortices in He II, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1991).
E. Varoquaux, W. Zimmermann, Jr., and O. Avenel, in Excitations in Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Quantum Fluids, A. F. G. Wyatt and H. J. Lauter (eds.), Plenum, New York (1991).
C. M. Muirhead, W. F. Vinen, and R. J. Donnelly, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 311, 433 (1984).
P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, P. V. E. McClintock, C. D. H. Williams, and R. M. Bowley, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 604 (1988); Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 332, 387 (1990).
D. D. Awshalom and K. W. Schwarz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 52, 49 (1984).
V. L. Ginsburg and L. P. Pitaevskii, Soviet Phys. JETP 34, 858 (1958).
A. Vilenkin and E. P. S. Shellard, Cosmic Strings and Other Topological Defects, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1994).
A. Guth and P. Steinhardt, in The New Physics, P. C. W. Davies (ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1989).
P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, R. A. M. Lee, P. V. E. McClintock, and C. D. H. Williams, J. Low Temp. Physics 93, 1059 (1993).
K. W. Schwarz and J. R. Rozen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 1898 (1991).
J. Koplik and H. Levine, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1375 (1993).
P. C. Hendry and P. V. E. McClintock, Cryogenics 27, 131 (1987).
G. C. Straty and E. D. Adams, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 40, 1393 (1969).
M. E. Dodd, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Lancaster (1998).
W. F. Vinen, Creation of Quantized Vortex Rings at the λ-Transition in Liquid Helium-4, unpublished.
F. V. Kustmartsev, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1880 (1996).
R. A. M. Lee, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Lancaster (1994).
P. Laguna and W. H. Zurek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2519 (1997).
G. A. Williams, J. Low Temp. Phys. 93, 1079 (1993); and “Vortex loop phase transitions in liquid helium, cosmic strings and high T c superconductors,” preprint cond-mat/9807338.
G. Karra and R. J. Rivers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3707 (1998).
P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, R. A. M. Lee, P. V. E. McClintock, and C. D. H. Williams, Physica B 210, 209 (1995).
M. E. Dodd, P. C. Hendry, N. S. Lawson, R. A. M. Lee, and P. V. E. McClintock, Czech. J. Phys. 46, 43 (1996).
C. F. Barenghi, R. J. Donnelly, and W. F. Vinen, J. Low Temp. Phys. 52, 189 (1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dodd, M.E., Hendry, P.C., Lawson, N.S. et al. Expansion of Liquid 4He Through the Lambda Transition. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 115, 89–105 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021898914014
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021898914014