Superfluid critical behavior in the presence of a dilute correlated impurity

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.48.3858· OSTI ID:6324539

Wong, G K.S.; Crowell, P A; Cho, H A; Reppy, J D ^[1]

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1. The Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics and the Material Sciences Center, Clark Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-2501 (United States)

Measurements of the superfluid density and heat capacity in porous aerogel glasses that are [ital completely] [ital filled] with liquid helium are presented as examples of critical behavior in the presence of a dilute correlated impurity. Longstanding doubts about the existence of critical behavior in [sup 4]He-filled porous media, brought about by the failure of all previous searches for a singularity in anything other than the superfluid density, are put to rest by the observation of a sharp heat-capacity singularity that is coincident with the superfluid transition. With the notable exception of the superfluid transition in pure helium itself, the superfluid transitions in [sup 4]He-filled aerogel are among the sharpest phase transitions ever seen. However, the critical exponents for the superfluid density and heat capacity are both markedly different from the corresponding exponents in pure helium. We conclude that the correlated disorder introduced by the aerogel glass drives this system away from the three-dimensional [ital XY] universality class to which pure helium belongs.

• OSTI ID: 6324539
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States) Vol. 48:6; ISSN 0163-1829; ISSN PRBMDO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

665420* -- Superfluidity-- (1992-)
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
GLASS
HELIUM 4
HELIUM II
HELIUM ISOTOPES
HYDRODYNAMICS
IMPURITIES
ISOTOPES
LAMBDA POINT
LIGHT NUCLEI
MATERIALS
MECHANICS
NUCLEI
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POROUS MATERIALS
QUANTUM FLUIDS
RENORMALIZATION
SCALING LAWS
SPECIFIC HEAT
STABLE ISOTOPES
SUPERFLUIDITY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEMPERATURE RANGE
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0000-0013 K
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE