Influence of exchange scattering on superfluid $^3$He states in nematic aerogel

V. P. Mineev (1, 2)

1 GT - Laboratory of Quantum Theory
2 L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics of RAS

The superfluid state in bulk liquid $^3$He is realized in the form of A or B phases. Uniaxially anisotropic aerogel (nafen) stabilizes transition from the normal to the polar superfluid state which on further cooling transitions to the axipolar orbital glass state (Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 165304 (2015)). This is the case in nafen aerogel preplated by several atomic layers of $^4$He. When pure liquid $^3$He fills the same nafen aerogel a solid-like layer of $^3$He atoms coats the aerogel structure. The polar state is not formed anymore and a phase transition occurs directly to the axipolar phase (Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 075301 (2018)). The substitution of $^4$He by $^3$He atoms at the aerogel surface changes the potential and adds the exchange scattering of quasiparticles on the aerogel strands. A calculation shows that both of these effects can decrease the degree of anisotropy of scattering and suppress the polar phase formation. The derived anisotropy of the spin diffusion coefficient in globally anisotropic aerogel is determined by the same parameter which controls the polar state emergence which allows one to check the effect of anisotropy change for different types of covering.

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

V. P. Mineev. Influence of exchange scattering on superfluid $^3$He states in nematic aerogel. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2018, 98, pp.014501. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.98.014501⟩. ⟨hal-02022866⟩