QUEST-DMC: Background Modelling and Resulting Heat Deposit for a Superfluid Helium-3 Bolometer

Autti, S.; Casey, A.; Eng, N.; Darvishi, N.; Franchini, P.; Haley, R. P.; Heikkinen, P. J.; Kemp, A.; Leason, E.; Levitin, L. V.; Monroe, J.; March-Russel, J.; Noble, M. T.; Prance, J. R.; Rojas, X.; Salmon, T.; Saunders, J.; Smith, R.; Thompson, M. D.; Tsepelin, V.; West, S. M.; Whitehead, L.; Zhang, K.; Zmeev, D. E.

doi:10.1007/s10909-024-03142-w

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

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Nanofluidic Platform for Studying the First-Order Phase Transitions in Superfluid Helium-3

Heikkinen,

Eng,

Levitin

et al. 2024

J Low Temp Phys

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The symmetry-breaking first-order phase transition between superfluid phases $$^3$$ 3 He-A and $$^3$$ 3 He-B can be triggered extrinsically by ionising radiation or heterogeneous nucleation arising from the details of the sample cell construction. However, the role of potential homogeneous intrinsic nucleation mechanisms remains elusive. Discovering and resolving the intrinsic processes may have cosmological consequences, since an analogous first-order phase transition, and the production of gravitational waves, has been predicted for the very early stages of the expanding Universe in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Here we introduce a new approach for probing the phase transition in superfluid $$^3$$ 3 He. The setup consists of a novel stepped-height nanofluidic sample container with close to atomically smooth walls. The $$^3$$ 3 He is confined in five tiny nanofabricated volumes and assayed non-invasively by NMR. Tuning of the state of $$^3$$ 3 He by confinement is used to isolate each of these five volumes so that the phase transitions in them can occur independently and free from any obvious sources of heterogeneous nucleation. The small volumes also ensure that the transitions triggered by ionising radiation are strongly suppressed. Here we present the preliminary measurements using this setup, showing both strong supercooling of $$^3$$ 3 He-A and superheating of $$^3$$ 3 He-B, with stochastic processes dominating the phase transitions between the two. The objective is to study the nucleation as a function of temperature and pressure over the full phase diagram, to both better test the proposed extrinsic mechanisms and seek potential parallel intrinsic mechanisms.

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Nanofluidic Platform for Studying the First-Order Phase Transitions in Superfluid Helium-3

Heikkinen,

Eng,

Levitin

et al. 2024

J Low Temp Phys

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A-B Transition in Superfluid $$^3$$He and Cosmological Phase Transitions

Hindmarsh,

Sauls,

Zhang

et al. 2024

J Low Temp Phys

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First-order phase transitions in the very early universe are a prediction of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics and could provide the departure from equilibrium needed for a dynamical explanation of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. They could also produce gravitational waves of a frequency observable by future space-based detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. All calculations of the gravitational wave power spectrum rely on a relativistic version of the classical nucleation theory of Cahn-Hilliard and Langer, due to Coleman and Linde. The high purity and precise control of pressure and temperature achievable in the laboratory made the first-order A to B transition of superfluid $$^3$$ 3 He ideal for test of classical nucleation theory. As Leggett and others have noted, the theory fails dramatically. The lifetime of the metastable A phase is measurable, typically of order minutes to hours, far faster than classical nucleation theory predicts. If the nucleation of B phase from the supercooled A phase is due to a new, rapid intrinsic mechanism that would have implications for first-order cosmological phase transitions as well as predictions for gravitational wave production in the early universe. Here we discuss studies of the A-B phase transition dynamics in $$^3$$ 3 He, both experimental and theoretical, and show how the computational technology for cosmological phase transition can be used to simulate the dynamics of the A-B transition, support the experimental investigations of the A-B transition in the QUEST-DMC collaboration with the goal of identifying and quantifying the mechanism(s) responsible for nucleation of stable phases in ultra-pure metastable quantum phases.

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Nanofluidic platform for studying the first-order phase transitions in superfluid helium-3

Heikkinen,

Eng,

Levitin

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The symmetry-breaking first-order phase transition between superfluid phases 3 He-A and 3 He-B can be triggered extrinsically by ionising radiation or heterogeneous nucleation arising from the details of the sample cell construction. However, the role of potential homogeneous intrinsic nucleation mechanisms remains elusive. Discovering and resolving the intrinsic processes may have cosmological consequences, since an analogous first-order phase transition, and the production of gravitational waves, has been predicted for the very early stages of the expanding Universe in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Here we introduce a new approach for probing the phase transition in superfluid 3 He. The setup consists of a novel stepped-height nanofluidic sample container with close to atomically smooth walls. The 3 He is confined in five tiny nanofabricated volumes and assayed non-invasively by NMR. Tuning of the state of 3 He by confinement is used to isolate each of these five volumes so that the phase transitions in them can occur independently and free from any obvious sources of heterogeneous nucleation. The small volumes also ensure that the transitions triggered by ionising radiation are strongly suppressed. Here we present the preliminary measurements using this setup, showing both strong supercooling of 3 He-A and superheating of 3 He-B, with stochastic processes dominating the phase transitions between the two. The objective is to study the nucleation as a function of temperature and pressure over the full phase diagram, to both better test the proposed extrinsic mechanisms and seek potential parallel intrinsic mechanisms.

show abstract

QUEST-DMC: Background Modelling and Resulting Heat Deposit for a Superfluid Helium-3 Bolometer

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Nanofluidic Platform for Studying the First-Order Phase Transitions in Superfluid Helium-3

Nanofluidic Platform for Studying the First-Order Phase Transitions in Superfluid Helium-3

A-B Transition in Superfluid $$^3$$He and Cosmological Phase Transitions

Nanofluidic platform for studying the first-order phase transitions in superfluid helium-3

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