Adsorption and capillary condensation of 4He on Nuclepore: Third-sound and capacitance measurements

A review of giant correlation-length effects via proximity and weak-links coupling in a critical system: 4He near the superfluid transition

We review measurements of ⁴He near the superfluid transition in arrangements whereby an array of weak links couple relatively larger, more bulk-like ⁴He regions. In contrast to experiments which focus on the dependence of the superflow on the chemical potential difference across the links, these studies focus on the specific heat of both the weak links and that of the larger coupled regions, as well as the behavior of the superfluid fraction within the weak links. The data show unexpected results which reflect a very long range coupling as well as modification of the weak link itself due to the proximity to bulk-like helium. One finds that while the three-dimensional correlation length [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text], is involved in these long-range effects, the distance over which these can be seen is of the order of 100 to 1000 times [Formula: see text]. These results call into question our understanding of the meaning of the correlation length at a critical point as the 'range' over which information can propagate. These studies are the first to measure the thermodynamic properties of weak links for a critical system where fluctuations are important. They differ in essential ways with expectations from mean-field considerations. We compare results with other ⁴He measurements, with superconductors and the theoretical calculations of the Ising model.

Hysteresis in a Capillary Condensation System

We report measurements of the hysteretic capillary condensation of liquid 4He into the porous material Nuclepore. Results are presented for global and hysteretic behavior for 300 Å diameter pores. These observations deviate from the predictions of the Preisach model of independent hysteresis domains. By modifying the Preisach model so as to restrict the ability of some of the pores to drain normally we are able to model many features of the experimental data.

Superfluid Avalanches in Nuclepore: Constrained versus Free-Boundary Experiments and Simulations

Superfluid 4He exhibits hysteretic behavior in the percolated nanoporous material Nuclepore during the filling and draining of pores due to capillary condensation, and one observes avalanches during the pore draining. We observe that the size and frequency of the avalanches depend upon whether the fluid flow off the substrate during draining is impeded or unimpeded. We simulate the draining of superfluid 4He from Nuclepore with and without a perturbation of the pore menisci and find results similar to the results seen in the experiments in the presence or the absence of flow inhibition.

Simple model of capillary condensation in cylindrical pores

A simple model based on an approximation of the dropletlike model is formulated for studying adsorption of fluids into cylindrical pores. This model yields a nearly universal description of capillary condensation transitions for noble gases confined by alkali metals. The system's thermodynamical behavior is predicted from the values of two dimensionless parameters: D* (the reduced asymptotic strength of the fluid-adsorber interaction, a function of temperature) and R* (the reduced radius of the pore). The phenomenon of hysteresis inherently related to capillary condensation is discussed. The connection to a previously proposed universality for cylindrical pores is also established.

3He spin diffusion measurements in 3He- 4He mixture films

3He spin diffusion measurements for 3He-4He mixture films on Nuclepore are reported as a function of 3He coverage for 0. 030</=T</=0.070 K. We report measurements for a constant 4He coverage of 5.0 bulk density atomic layers, with 3He coverages between 0.10 and 0.98 layers. We find that the 3He spin diffusion coefficient, as measured by Hahn spin echoes, has an unexplained maximum as a function of 3He coverage and that the temperature dependence is somewhat weaker than predicted. Comparison measurements are presented for the NMR relaxation times T1 and T2 and the magnetization over the same 3He coverage range.