Abstract
The excitement following the initial report of supersolid behavior for 4He embedded in porous Vycor glass has been tempered by the realization that many of the early supersolid observations were contaminated by effects arising from an anomaly in the elastic properties of solid 4He. In an attempt to separate dynamic elastic effects from a true supersolid signal, we employed a torsional oscillator with two eigen-frequencies to study the 4He-Vycor system. We found that frequency-dependent elastic signals can entirely account for the observed period shift signals. Although, we conclude that supersolid does not exist for the 4He-Vycor case, the question of its presence in bulk samples remains open. In our current experiments we apply the two-frequency test to bulk samples of solid 4He. Again we find a frequency-dependent contribution arising from elastic effects; however, in some cases we also find a small frequency-independent contribution, which may indicate the existence of a remnant supersolid phase. Given the history of this subject such results must be treated with caution.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
E. Kim, M.H.W. Chan, Nature 427, 225 (2004)
E. Kim, M.H.W. Chan, Science 305, 1941 (2004)
A.S.C. Rittner, J.D. Reppy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 165301 (2006)
Y. Aoka, J.C. Graves, H. Kojima, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 015301 (2007)
A. Penzev, Y. Yatsuta, M. Kubota, J. Low Temp. Phys. 148, 677 (2007)
M. Kondo, S. Takada, Y. Shirahama, K. Shirahama, J. Low Temp. Phys. 148, 695 (2007)
J. Day, J. Beamish, Nature 450, 83 (2007)
A.C. Clark, J.D. Maynard, M.H.W. Chan, Phys. Rev. B 77, 184513 (2008)
H.J. Maris, S. Balibar, J. Low Temp. Phys. 162, 12 (2011)
J.D. Reppy, X. Mi, A. Justin, E.J. Mueller, J. Low Temp. Phys. 168, 175 (2012)
H.J. Maris, Phys. Rev. B 86, 020502(R) (2012)
M.A. Paalanen, D.J. Bishop, H.W. Dall, Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 664 (1981)
J.R. Beamish, A.D. Fefferman, A. Haziot, X. Rojas, S. Balibar, Phys. Rev. B 85, 120501 (2012)
J.G. Dash, J.S. Wettlaufer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 235301 (2004)
J.D. Reppy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 255301 (2012)
J. Beamish, Physics 3, 51 (2010)
X. Mi, J.D. Reppy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 225305 (2012)
D.Y. Kim, M.H.W. Chan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 155301 (2012)
H. Choi, D. Takahashi, K. Kono, E. Kim, Science 300, 1512 (2010)
N. Shimizu, S. Nimitovskii, A. Kitamura, Y. Yasuta, M. Kubota, J. Low Temp. Phys. 158, 572 (2010)
A.S.C. Rittner, J.D. Reppy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 155301 (2008)
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank A.S.C. Ritter and W. Choi for assistance with the blocked annulus experiments and E.J. Mueller for theoretical advice. This work has profited from the advice and criticisms of M.H.W. Chan, J. Beamish, and J.V. Reppy and is supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant DMR-060586, DMR-0965698 and CCMR Grant DMR-050404.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mi, X., Reppy, J.D. In Pursuit of the Elusive Supersolid. J Low Temp Phys 175, 104–112 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-013-0915-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-013-0915-5