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Chirality of Superfluid He3-A

P. M. Walmsley and A. I. Golov
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 215301 – Published 19 November 2012
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Abstract

We have used torsional oscillators, containing disk-shaped slabs of superfluid He3-A, to probe the chiral orbital textures created by cooling into the superfluid state while continuously rotating. Comparing the observed flow-driven textural transitions with numerical simulations of possible textures shows that an oriented monodomain texture with l^ antiparallel to the angular velocity Ω0 is left behind after stopping rotation. The bias toward a particular chirality, while in the vortex state, is due to the inequivalence of energies of vortices of opposite circulation. When spun-up from rest, the critical velocity for vortex nucleation depends on the sense of rotation relative to that of l^. A different type of vorticity, apparently linked to the slab’s rim by a domain wall, appears when the angular velocity, Ω, is parallel to l^.

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  • Received 1 September 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.215301

© 2012 American Physical Society

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Chiral Quantum Textures

Published 19 November 2012

Coherent quantum states of different chirality have been formed and identified in the A phase of superfluid helium-3, confirming previous theoretical predictions.

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Authors & Affiliations

P. M. Walmsley and A. I. Golov

  • School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 109, Iss. 21 — 21 November 2012

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