A superfluid 4He interferometer operating near 2 K

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of Earth's rotation-induced interference in superfluid 4He at 2 K, demonstrating a new, practical matter-wave interferometer with potential for scientific applications.

Contribution

It introduces a superfluid 4He interferometer operating near 2 K, showing interference effects at higher temperatures than previous superfluid 3He devices, and explores its robustness across different current-phase relations.

Findings

Interference pattern observed at 2 K due to Earth's rotation.

Interferometer works with both sinusoidal and linear current-phase relations.

Potential for scientific probing with modest cryogenic requirements.

Abstract

Matter-wave interferometers reveal some of the most fascinating phenomena of the quantum world. Phase shifts due to rotation (the Sagnac effect) for neutrons, free atoms and superfluid 3He reveal the connection of matter waves to a non-rotating inertial frame. In addition, phase shifts in electron waves due to magnetic vector potentials (the Aharonov-Bohm effect) show that physical states can be modified in the absence of classical forces. We report here the observation of interference induced by the Earth's rotation in superfluid 4He at 2 K, a temperature 2000 times higher than previously achieved with 3He. This interferometer, an analog of a dc-SQUID, employs a recently reported phenomenon wherein superfluid 4He exhibits quantum oscillations in an array of sub-micron apertures. We find that the interference pattern persists not only when the aperture array current-phase relation is a sinusoidal function characteristic of the Josephson effect, but also at lower temperatures where it is linear and oscillations occur by phase slips. The modest requirements for the interferometer (2 K cryogenics and fabrication of apertures at the level of 100nm) and its potential resolution suggest that, when engineering challenges such as vibration isolation are met, superfluid 4He interferometers could become important scientific probes.