Half-solitons in superfluid /sup 3/He-A: Novel /pi//2-quanta of phase slippage

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1989 · J. Low Temp. Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00683378· OSTI ID:5628424

Salomaa, M M; Volovik, G E

Core structures of nontopological solitons between inequivalent vacua in superfluid /sup 3/He-A are considered. The authors analyze the symmetries of these A-A interfaces, and compute their hard-core structures in the Ginzburg-Landau regime. They discuss both domain walls where the orbital anisotropy l-vector is flipped (l/yields/ /minus/l), and those with the same l(x = /minus//infinity/) and l(x = +/infinity/) asymptotics. In particular, they find new classes of A-A boundaries: these novel /pi//2-solitons, which can occur in the absence of a change in the asymptotic l-vector field, constitute the elementary quanta of phase slippage in superfluid /sup 3/He. The authors ascribe these half-solitons to a new topological scenario for the flaring-out of vorticity in the extended (k,r)-space. Edges of such walls serve to provide vortices with 1/4 quantum of circulation in /sup 3/He-A. In analogy with the B-B domain walls in superfluid /sup 3/He-B, solitons of pure phase slippage by /pi/-with a normal core-prove unstable in /sup 3/He-A; they either fission into a pair of ordinary l-solitons-domain walls with superfluid cores both flipping the orbital anisotropy axis (i.e., l/yield//minus/l/yield/l), or form a bound pair of walls, each of which constitutes an l-soliton with a phase shift of /pi//2. Their investigation of the superfluid A-A vacuum interfaces may prove useful in a broader context since the A-A boundaries exemplify the possible domain walls relevant for the Higgs-field solitons (cosmic domain walls) within the Weinberg-Salam model.

• Research Organization: Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland)
• OSTI ID: 5628424
• Journal Information: J. Low Temp. Phys.; (United States), Vol. 74:3-4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
HELIUM 3 A
SOLITONS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
DOMAIN STRUCTURE
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
FILM FLOW
GINZBURG-LANDAU THEORY
HELIUM 3 B
INTERFACES
MAGNETIZATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ORDER PARAMETERS
PHASE STUDIES
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
SLIP
SPIN
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
SUPERFLUIDITY
SYMMETRY
TOPOLOGY
VACUUM STATES
VORTEX FLOW
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLUID FLOW
HELIUM 3
HELIUM ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LAYERS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MATHEMATICS
MECHANICS
NUCLEI
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
QUASI PARTICLES
STABLE ISOTOPES
640450* - Fluid Physics- Superfluidity
656100 - Condensed Matter Physics- Superconductivity