Rapid Transport of Glassy Supersolid Helium in Wavy-Rough Nanpores

TL;DR

This paper proposes that wavy roughness in nanopores significantly enhances the flow of solid helium, potentially explaining variations in observed supersolid fractions in experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking nanopore surface roughness to increased solid helium flow, offering a new explanation for experimental discrepancies.

Findings

Wavy roughness increases helium flow rates in nanopores.

Flow enhancement depends on nanopore size and roughness amplitude.

The model aligns with observed variations in supersolid fractions.

Abstract

We show that the presumed wavy roughness distributed along the wall of different nanopores (radius : a around 3.5 nm for Vycor or a silica glass; around 245 nm for porous gold) will induce larger volume flow rates of solid helium (of which there is a minimum) which might explain reported experimental differences of the supersolid fractions observed so far.