Abstract
Recently, a metastable state of solid \(^4\)He has been produced by locally lowering the density of the solid below the melting density using a focused acoustic wave pulse. An unexpected instability of the solid has been found about 4 bar below the melting line. This paper reports on experiments precisely localizing in time the instability birth within the acoustic pulse. It is found that, as expected, the instability always appears during a depression swing of the wave. However a metastability pressure limit does not emerge clearly. Total stress duration seems also to play a role in the instability triggering, suggesting a fatigue effect.
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Acknowledgments
We thank S. Balibar and F. Caupin for their interest in this work and for the loan of their RF amplifier, A. Laliotis for experimental help at the beginning of this work, A. Feffermann for his careful reading of the manuscript and the technical staff of the Département de Physique de l’École Normale Supérieure for efficient technical support.
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Souris, F., Qu, A., Dupont-Roc, J. et al. On the Destabilization of Metastable Solid \(^4\)He. J Low Temp Phys 179, 390–395 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-013-1037-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-013-1037-9