Thermodynamic properties of thin films of superfluid 3He-A

TL;DR

This paper presents theoretical predictions for the thermodynamic properties of thin superfluid He-3 films, analyzing how surface scattering influences the order parameter, excitation spectrum, and phase diagram.

Contribution

It provides new self-consistent calculations of the order parameter, excitation spectrum, and thermodynamic properties considering both specular and diffuse surface scattering.

Findings

New phase diagram for superfluid He-3 thin films

Calculated free energy, entropy, and specific heat variations

Impact of surface scattering on superfluid properties

Abstract

The pairing correlations in superfluid He-3 are strongly modified by quasiparticle scattering off a surface or an interface. We present theoretical results and predictions for the order parameter, the quasiparticle excitation spectrum and the free energy for thin films of superfluid He-3. Both specular and diffuse scattering by a substrate are considered, while the free surface is assumed to be a perfectly reflecting specular boundary. The results are based on self-consistent calculations of the order parameter and quasiparticle excitation spectrum at zero pressure. We obtain new results for the phase diagram, free energy, entropy and specific heat of thin films of superfluid He-3.