Low Temperature Shear Modulus Changes in Solid 4-He and Connection to Supersolidity

TL;DR

This study links the low-temperature shear modulus increase in solid helium-4 to dislocation dynamics, suggesting a connection to the supersolid phenomena observed in torsional oscillator experiments.

Contribution

It provides the first direct measurement of shear modulus changes in solid 4-He and connects elastic behavior to supersolidity-related decoupling phenomena.

Findings

Shear modulus increases below 200 mK

Dislocation pinning by 3-He impurities affects elasticity

Elastic behavior correlates with torsional oscillator decoupling

Abstract

Superfluidity, liquid flow without friction, is familiar in helium. The first evidence for "supersolidity", its analogue in quantum solids, came from recent torsional oscillator (TO) measurements involving 4-He. At temperatures below 200 mK, TO frequencies increased, suggesting that some of the solid decoupled from the oscillator. This behavior has been replicated by several groups but solid 4-He does not respond to pressure differences and persistent currents and other signatures of superflow have not been seen. Both experiments and theory indicate that defects are involved. These should also affect the solid's mechanical behavior and so we have measured the shear modulus of solid 4-He at low frequencies and strains. We observe large increases below 200 mK, with the same dependence on measurement amplitude, 3-He impurity concentration and annealing as the decoupling seen in TO experiments. This unusual elastic behavior is explained in terms of a dislocation network which is pinned by 3-He at the lowest temperatures but becomes mobile above 100 mK. The frequency changes in TO experiments appear to be related to the motion of these dislocations, perhaps by disrupting a possible supersolid state.