Abstract
We report a study of nucleation and phase separation in solid helium isotopic mixtures using a combination of pressure and NMR measurements. The experiments were performed both at pressures where the phase-separated 3He inclusions formed as solid droplets and as liquid droplets. Our observations clearly indicate the three stages of the nucleation process: creation of nucleation sites; growth of the new-phase component at these nucleation sites; and finally dissolution of sub-critical droplets with consequent further growth of super-critical droplets or ‘Ostwald ripening’.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
D. O. Edwards and S. Balibar, Phys. Rev. B 39, 4083 (1989).
S. C. J. Kingsley, V. Maidanov, J. Saunders and B. Cowan, J. Low Temp. Phys. 113, 1017 (1998).
A. Smith, V. A. Maidanov, E. Ya. Rudavskii, V. N. Grigor'ev, V. V. Slezou, M. Poole, J. Saunders and B. Cowan, Phys. Rev. B 67, 245314 (2003).
W. J. Mullin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 20, 254 (1968).
V. V. Slezou and J. Schmelzer, Fiz. Tverd. Tela, (Leningrad) 39, 2210 (1997) [Phys. Solid State 39, 1971 (1997)].
I. M. Lifshitz and V. V. Slezou, A. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 35, 479 (1958) [Soviet Physics JETP 35, 331 (1959)].
V. N. Grigor'ev, Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 23, 5 (1997) [Low Temp. Phys. 23, 3 (1997)]
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Poole, M., Cowan, B. Observation of the Stages of Homogeneous Nucleation in Isotopic Solid Helium Mixtures. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 134, 211–216 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOLT.0000012558.28950.b5
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOLT.0000012558.28950.b5