The structure of large 3He-4He mixed drops around a dopant molecule

TL;DR

This study investigates the distribution of helium isotopes in large mixed drops doped with SF6 or Xe, revealing how the superfluid environment depends on the number of $^4$He atoms and aligns with experimental observations.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the structure and superfluidity of large mixed helium drops doped with molecules, highlighting the dependence on $^4$He atom count.

Findings

Number of $^3$He atoms in solvation shells increases as $^4$He decreases.

Superfluid environment persists for $N_4 ext{ } ext{≥} ext{ } 60$ and diminishes below that.

Qualitative agreement with recent experimental data.

Abstract

We have investigated how helium atoms are distributed within a mixed $^3$He$_{N_3}$-$^4$He$_{N_4}$ large drop with $N_3 \gg N_4$. For drops doped with a SF$_6$ molecule or a Xe atom, we have found that the number of $^3$He atoms within the volume containing the first two solvation shells increases when $N_4$ decreases in a way such that these dopants may be in a superfluid environment for $N_4 \geq$ 60, which gradually disappears as $N_4$ decreases. The result is in qualitative agreement with recent experimental data.