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Title: Ultrasonic investigations of two order-parameter collective modes in superfluid /sup 3/He-B

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:6846014

Simultaneous measurements of the changes in the attenuation, group velocity and phase velocity of sound at the collective mode/zero sound mode crossings were made with pulsed transmission ultrasonic techniques. Zero sound at discrete frequencies between 12 and 133 MHz was used to excite these collective modes at temperatures between 0.5 mK and the superfluid's transition temperature. These measurements were made in zero applied magnetic field for a series of /sup 3/He pressures between 11.7 and 15.5 bar. Measurements of the relative change in the superfluid's acoustic impedance were also made at these mode crossings for /sup 3/He pressures between 1.64 and 4.88 bar. These measurements were made with a cw impedance technique (at sound frequencies of 12, 36, and 60 MHz) with and without magnetic fields applied to the sound propagation region. From these experiments the magnitude and temperature dependence of the collective mode frequencies and coupling strengths to zero sound were determined. The Zeeman splitting of only the real squashing mode in the applied magnetic fields was observed. The values of these frequencies are consistent with values calculated from a theory that incorporates Fermi liquid parameters F/sub l//sup s,a/(lless than or equal to2), pairing potentials v/sub l/(l = 1,3) and strong-coupling modifications to the weak-coupling BCS gap function. The low temperature value of the squashing mode coupling constant is in good agreement with the theoretically predicted value. A value for the particle-hole asymmetry in /sup 3/He-B (determined from the coupling constant of the real squashing mode) is consistent with existing theory. The observed Zeeman splitting of the real squashing mode is consistent with the existing theory for the bulk liquid.

Research Organization:
Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (USA)
OSTI ID:
6846014
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English