Search for supersolidity in solid 4He using multiple-mode torsional oscillators

Evidence of superfluidity in a dipolar supersolid from nonclassical rotational inertia

A key manifestation of superfluidity in liquids and gases is a reduction of the moment of inertia under slow rotations. Nonclassical rotational effects have also been considered in the context of the elusive supersolid phase of matter, in which superfluidity coexists with a lattice structure. Here, we show that the recently discovered supersolid phase in dipolar quantum gases features a reduced moment of inertia. Using a dipolar gas of dysprosium atoms, we studied a peculiar rotational oscillation mode in a harmonic potential, the scissors mode, previously investigated in ordinary superfluids. From the measured moment of inertia, we deduced a superfluid fraction that is different from zero and of order of unity, providing direct evidence of the superfluid nature of the dipolar supersolid.

Mass Flow through Solid ^{3}He in the bcc Phase

A number of experiments have shown that mass can be transported through solid ^{4}He at temperatures as low as 16 mK, with features that suggest superflow. But the nature of this flow remains unclear. The Fermi isotope ^{3}He provides the possibility of a direct comparison to a solid in which quantum effects are even more important but superfluidity is not expected. We have made flow measurements on high purity bcc ^{3}He, using the same cell in which we observed a superfluidlike response in hcp ^{4}He when pressure differences were applied. We observed flow but, in marked contrast to ^{4}He, it decreased monotonically with temperature. Near melting, the flow was thermally activated with an energy of 0.85 K, but some flow remained even at 30 mK. The flow rates in the solid were essentially constant below 100 mK, even in low density samples that remelted at low temperatures. The very different behaviors of solid ^{3}He and ^{4}He support the interpretation of superflow in ^{4}He. Although such superflow is not possible in ^{3}He, the temperature-independent flow below 100 mK indicates that the flow in this regime also has a quantum origin. The flow must involve defects and, based on the magnitude of the flow and comparisons to other experiments, we conclude that in both the thermal and the quantum regimes the flow involves motion of dislocations via thermally activated or tunneling motion of kinks.