Eighty years of superfluidity

Halperin, William P.

doi:10.1038/d41586-018-00417-7

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15 January 2018

Eighty years of superfluidity

In 1938, two studies demonstrated that liquid helium-4 flows without friction or viscosity at temperatures close to absolute zero. The finding led to major advances in our understanding of low-temperature physics.

William P. Halperin⁰

William P. Halperin
1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
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In the early twentieth century, scientists discovered the non-intuitive phenomena of superconductivity and superfluidity, in which electrons and atoms, respectively, flow without resistance over great distances. Superfluidity was beautifully demonstrated 80 years ago in two papers published in Nature by Allen and Misener¹ and Kapitza². The authors observed the flow of liquid helium-4 through extremely narrow channels and showed that the substance becomes a superfluid at very low temperatures. The studies presaged the firm understanding of the relationship between superfluidity and superconductivity that now exists, and which provides the foundation for investigating unconventional superconductors and superfluid phases.

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Nature 553, 413-414 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-00417-7

References

Allen, J. F. & Misener, A. D. Nature 141, 75 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Kapitza, P. Nature 141, 74 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Bardeen, J., Cooper, L. N. & Schrieffer, J. R. Phys. Rev. 108, 1175–1204 (1957).
Article CAS Google Scholar
London, F. Nature 141, 643–644 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar
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Article CAS Google Scholar
Balian, R. & Werthamer, N. R. Phys. Rev. 131, 1553–1564 (1963).
Article Google Scholar
Vdovin, Y. A. in Application of Methods of Quantum Field Theory to Problems of Many Particles (ed. Alekseyeva, A. I.) (GOS ATOM ISDAT, 1963).
Google Scholar
Osheroff, D. D., Richardson, R. C. & Lee, D. M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 28, 885–888 (1972).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Osheroff, D. D., Gully, W. J., Richardson, R. C. & Lee, D. M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 920–923 (1972).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Halperin, W. P., Archie, C. N., Rasmussen, F. B., Buhrman, R. A. & Richardson, R. C. Phys. Rev. Lett. 32, 927–930 (1974).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Vollhardt, D. & Wölfle, P. The Superfluid Phases of Helium 3 (Taylor and Francis, 1990).
Google Scholar
Maki, K. J. Low Temp. Phys. 16, 465–477 (1974).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Serene, J. W. III. Theory of Collisionless Sound in Superfluid Helium 3. PhD thesis, Cornell University (1974).
Volovik, G. E. & Zubkov, M. A. J. Low Temp. Phys. 175, 486–497 (2014).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Moores, G. F. & Sauls, J. A. J. Low Temp. Phys. 91, 13–37 (1993).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Lee, Y., Haard, T. M., Halperin, W. P. & Sauls, J. A. Nature 400, 431–433 (1999).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Norman, M. R. in Novel Superfluids Vol. 2 (eds K.-H. Bennemann & J. B. Ketterson) Ch. 13 (Oxford University Press, 2014).
Google Scholar
Sauls, J. A. Adv. Phys. 43, 113–141 (1994).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Schemm, E. R., Gannon, W., J., Wishne, C. M., Halperin, W. P. & Kapitulnik, A. Science 345, 190–193 (2014).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Lee, Y. & Halperin, W. P. J. Low Temp. Phys. 189, 1–14 (2017).
Article CAS Google Scholar

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[1] Allen, J. F. & Misener, A. D. Nature 141, 75 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[2] Kapitza, P. Nature 141, 74 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[3] Bardeen, J., Cooper, L. N. & Schrieffer, J. R. Phys. Rev. 108, 1175–1204 (1957).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[4] London, F. Nature 141, 643–644 (1938).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[5] Anderson, P. W. & Morel, P. Phys. Rev. 123, 1911–1934 (1961).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[6] Balian, R. & Werthamer, N. R. Phys. Rev. 131, 1553–1564 (1963).
Article Google Scholar

[7] Vdovin, Y. A. in Application of Methods of Quantum Field Theory to Problems of Many Particles (ed. Alekseyeva, A. I.) (GOS ATOM ISDAT, 1963).
Google Scholar

[8] Osheroff, D. D., Richardson, R. C. & Lee, D. M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 28, 885–888 (1972).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[9] Osheroff, D. D., Gully, W. J., Richardson, R. C. & Lee, D. M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 920–923 (1972).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[10] Halperin, W. P., Archie, C. N., Rasmussen, F. B., Buhrman, R. A. & Richardson, R. C. Phys. Rev. Lett. 32, 927–930 (1974).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[11] Vollhardt, D. & Wölfle, P. The Superfluid Phases of Helium 3 (Taylor and Francis, 1990).
Google Scholar

[12] Maki, K. J. Low Temp. Phys. 16, 465–477 (1974).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[13] Serene, J. W. III. Theory of Collisionless Sound in Superfluid Helium 3. PhD thesis, Cornell University (1974).

[14] Volovik, G. E. & Zubkov, M. A. J. Low Temp. Phys. 175, 486–497 (2014).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[15] Moores, G. F. & Sauls, J. A. J. Low Temp. Phys. 91, 13–37 (1993).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[16] Lee, Y., Haard, T. M., Halperin, W. P. & Sauls, J. A. Nature 400, 431–433 (1999).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[17] Norman, M. R. in Novel Superfluids Vol. 2 (eds K.-H. Bennemann & J. B. Ketterson) Ch. 13 (Oxford University Press, 2014).
Google Scholar

[18] Sauls, J. A. Adv. Phys. 43, 113–141 (1994).
Article CAS Google Scholar

[19] Schemm, E. R., Gannon, W., J., Wishne, C. M., Halperin, W. P. & Kapitulnik, A. Science 345, 190–193 (2014).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[20] Lee, Y. & Halperin, W. P. J. Low Temp. Phys. 189, 1–14 (2017).
Article CAS Google Scholar

Eighty years of superfluidity

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