Interaction of ions, atoms, and small molecules with quantized vortex lines in superfluid 4He

Structure and formation of copper cluster ions in multiply charged He nanodroplets

The structure of cationic and anionic Cu clusters grown in multiply charged superfluid He nanodroplets was investigated using He tagging as a chemical probe. Further, the structure assignment was done based on the magic-numbered ions, representing the most energetically favorable structures. The exact geometry of the cluster and positions of He is verified by calculations. It was found that the structure of the clusters grown in the He droplets is similar to that produced with a laser ablation source and the lowest energy structures predicted by theoretical investigations. The only difference is the structure of the Cu₅⁺, which in our experiments has a twisted-X geometry, rather than a bipyramid or planar half-wheel geometry suggested by previous studies. This might be attributed to the different cluster formation mechanisms, the absence of the Ar-tag and the ultracold environment. It was also found that He tends to bind to partially more electro-negative or positive areas of the anionic or cationic clusters, respectively.

Magnetic Properties of a Ni Nanonet Grown in Superfluid Helium under Laser Irradiation

A nanonet consisting of ultrathin Ni nanowires (diameter <4 nm) and Ni nanoballs (diameter <20 nm) has been grown through laser ablation of a Ni target in superfluid helium. At a low Ni concentration, the nanonet consists mainly of nanowires and manifests a rectangular magnetic hysteresis loop, while an increase in the Ni concentration results in an increase in both the concentration and diameter of the nanoballs. A decrease in hysteresis loop rectangularity is observed as the concentration of the nanoball increases. We show that the composition of the system can be determined from the changes in the magnetic hysteresis loop and the temperature dependence of magnetization. The significance of the work consists of the observation of evolution of magnetic properties of the ferromagnetic nanonet, while its composition varies from nanowires to a combined nanowires–nanoballs system.

Imaging Quantum Vortices in Superfluid Helium Droplets

Free superfluid helium droplets constitute a versatile medium for a diverse range of experiments in physics and chemistry that extend from studies of the fundamental laws of superfluid motion to the synthesis of novel nanomaterials. In particular, the emergence of quantum vortices in rotating helium droplets is one of the most dramatic hallmarks of superfluidity and gives detailed access to the wave function describing the quantum liquid. This review provides an introduction to quantum vorticity in helium droplets, followed by a historical account of experiments on vortex visualization in bulk superfluid helium and a more detailed discussion of recent advances in the study of the rotational motion of isolated, nano- to micrometer-scale superfluid helium droplets. Ultrafast X-ray and extreme ultraviolet scattering techniques enabled by X-ray free-electron lasers and high-order harmonic generation in particular have facilitated the in situ detection of droplet shapes and the imaging of vortex structures inside individual, isolated droplets. New applications of helium droplets ranging from studies of quantum phase separations to mechanisms of low-temperature aggregation are discussed.

Dynamics of impurity clustering in superfluid 4He nanodroplets

Snapshot taken at 75 ps of the capture of six Ar atoms hitting a ⁴He₅₀₀₀ droplet at 100 m s⁻¹.

Drift mechanism of the metal nanowires formation in liquid helium

It is shown theoretically that the mechanism of the rapid coagulation of metal nanospheres into a nanowire in a quantum vortex proposed by E. B. Gordon et al. (Low Temp. Phys., 2010, 36, 590) could not be realized, due to the enormous heat release expelling the nanospheres from the vortex.

Coagulation of Metals in Superfluid and Normal Liquid Helium

The thermal emission study in this work has shown that coagulation of metals in liquid helium is accompanied by enormous local overheating of several thousand degrees. Direct experiments demonstrated, for the first time, that condensation of metals in superfluid helium occurs via the specific mechanism which is substantially faster than that in normal liquid helium. It has been stated that coagulation of metals in superfluid helium indeed occurs in two stages, a "hot" one of nanoparticles coalescence with the formation of molten nanospheres and the subsequent stage of their sticking together into nanowires. It turned out that if a laser ablation of metal targets immersed in superfluid helium was used for introducing a metal into liquid, the formation of nanowires occurs at distances of only about 1 mm from the laser focus. This leads to the presence of a considerable number of spherical inclusions in nanowires grown in such a way.

A thermodynamic model to predict electron mobility in superfluid helium

Electron mobility in superfluid helium is modeled between 0.1 and 2.2 K by a van der Waals-type thermodynamic equation of state, which relates the free volume of solvated electrons to temperature, density, and phase dependent internal pressure. The model is first calibrated against known electron mobility reference data along the saturated vapor pressure line and then validated to reproduce the existing mobility literature values as a function of pressure and temperature with at least 10% accuracy. Four different electron mobility regimes are identified: (1) Landau critical velocity limit (T ≈ 0), (2) mobility limited by thermal phonons (T < 0.6 K), (3) thermal phonon and discrete roton scattering ("roton gas") limited mobility (0.6 K < T < 1.2 K), and (4) the viscous liquid ("roton continuum") limit (T > 1.2 K) where the ion solvation structure directly determines the mobility. In the latter regime, the Stokes equation can be used to estimate the hydrodynamic radius of the solvated electron based on its mobility and fluid viscosity. To account for the non-continuum behavior appearing below 1.2 K, the temperature and density dependent Millikan-Cunningham factor is introduced. The hydrodynamic electron bubble radii predicted by the present model appear generally larger than the solvation cavity interface barycenter values obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Based on the classical Stokes law, this difference can arise from the variation of viscosity and flow characteristics around the electron. The calculated DFT liquid density profiles show distinct oscillations at the vacuum/liquid interface, which increase the interface rigidity.

Producing and imaging a thin line of He*₂ molecular tracers in helium-4

Cryogenic helium-4 has long been recognized as a useful material in fluids research. The unique properties of helium-4 in the gaseous phase and the normal liquid phase allow for the generation of turbulent flows with exceptionally high Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers. In the superfluid phase, helium-4 exhibits two-fluid hydrodynamics and possesses fascinating properties due to its quantum nature. However, studying the flows in helium-4 has been very challenging largely due to the lack of effective visualization and velocimetry techniques. In this article, we discuss the development of novel instrumentation for flow-visualization in helium based on the generation and imaging of thin lines of metastable He*₂ tracer molecules. These molecular tracers are created via femtosecond-laser field-ionization of helium atoms and can be imaged using a laser-induced fluorescence technique. By observing the displacement and distortion of the tracer lines in helium, quantitative information about the flow field can be extracted. We present experimental results in the study of thermal counterflow in superfluid helium that validate the concept of this technique. We also discuss anticipated future developments of this powerful visualization technique.