Helium condensation in aerogel: Avalanches and disorder-induced phase transition

F. Detcheverry, E. Kierlik, M. L. Rosinberg, and G. Tarjus
Phys. Rev. E 72, 051506 – Published 29 November 2005

Abstract

We present a detailed numerical study of the elementary condensation events (avalanches) associated to the adsorption of He4 in silica aerogels. We use a coarse-grained lattice-gas description and determine the nonequilibrium behavior of the adsorbed gas within a local mean-field analysis, neglecting thermal fluctuations and activated processes. We investigate the statistical properties of the avalanches, such as their number, size and shape along the adsorption isotherms as a function of gel porosity, temperature, and chemical potential. Our calculations predict the existence of a line of critical points in the temperature-porosity diagram where the avalanche size distribution displays a power-law behavior and the adsorption isotherms have a universal scaling form. The estimated critical exponents seem compatible with those of the field-driven random field Ising model at zero temperature.

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  • Received 10 August 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.051506

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

F. Detcheverry, E. Kierlik, M. L. Rosinberg, and G. Tarjus

  • Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France

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Vol. 72, Iss. 5 — November 2005

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