Classical Transitions in Superfluid Helium 3

TL;DR

This paper proposes that classical transitions via domain wall collisions explain the rapid A-B phase transition in superfluid Helium 3, challenging standard slow nucleation theories and offering testable predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism involving classical transitions to account for the fast phase change, which was previously unexplained by standard theories.

Findings

Domain wall collisions can induce phase transitions inaccessible by homogeneous nucleation.

Qualitative agreement with prior experimental observations.

Provides specific, testable predictions for future experiments.

Abstract

We argue that classical transitions can be the key to explaining the long standing puzzle of the fast A-B phase transition observed in superfluid Helium 3 while standard theory expects it to be unobservably slow. Collisions between domain walls are shown to be capable of reaching phases inaccessible through homogenous nucleation on the measured timescales. We demonstrate qualitative agreements with prior observations and provide a definite, distinctive prediction that could be verified through future experiments or, perhaps, a specific analysis of existing data.