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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A-B Transition in Superfluid 3He and Cosmological Phase Transitions
AU - Hindmarsh, Mark
AU - Sauls, J. A.
AU - Zhang, Kuang
AU - Autti, S.
AU - Haley, Richard P.
AU - Heikkinen, Petri J.
AU - Huber, Stephan J.
AU - Levitin, Lev V.
AU - Lopez-Eiguren, Asier
AU - Mayer, Adam J.
AU - Rummukainen, Kari
AU - Saunders, John
AU - Zmeev, Dmitry
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/6/8
Y1 - 2024/6/8
N2 - First-order phase transitions in the very early universe are a prediction of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics and could provide the departure from equilibrium needed for a dynamical explanation of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. They could also produce gravitational waves of a frequency observable by future space-based detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. All calculations of the gravitational wave power spectrum rely on a relativistic version of the classical nucleation theory of Cahn-Hilliard and Langer, due to Coleman and Linde. The high purity and precise control of pressure and temperature achievable in the laboratory made the first-order A to B transition of superfluid 3He ideal for test of classical nucleation theory. As Leggett and others have noted, the theory fails dramatically. The lifetime of the metastable A phase is measurable, typically of order minutes to hours, far faster than classical nucleation theory predicts. If the nucleation of B phase from the supercooled A phase is due to a new, rapid intrinsic mechanism that would have implications for first-order cosmological phase transitions as well as predictions for gravitational wave production in the early universe. Here we discuss studies of the A-B phase transition dynamics in 3He, both experimental and theoretical, and show how the computational technology for cosmological phase transition can be used to simulate the dynamics of the A-B transition, support the experimental investigations of the A-B transition in the QUEST-DMC collaboration with the goal of identifying and quantifying the mechanism(s) responsible for nucleation of stable phases in ultra-pure metastable quantum phases.
AB - First-order phase transitions in the very early universe are a prediction of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics and could provide the departure from equilibrium needed for a dynamical explanation of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. They could also produce gravitational waves of a frequency observable by future space-based detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. All calculations of the gravitational wave power spectrum rely on a relativistic version of the classical nucleation theory of Cahn-Hilliard and Langer, due to Coleman and Linde. The high purity and precise control of pressure and temperature achievable in the laboratory made the first-order A to B transition of superfluid 3He ideal for test of classical nucleation theory. As Leggett and others have noted, the theory fails dramatically. The lifetime of the metastable A phase is measurable, typically of order minutes to hours, far faster than classical nucleation theory predicts. If the nucleation of B phase from the supercooled A phase is due to a new, rapid intrinsic mechanism that would have implications for first-order cosmological phase transitions as well as predictions for gravitational wave production in the early universe. Here we discuss studies of the A-B phase transition dynamics in 3He, both experimental and theoretical, and show how the computational technology for cosmological phase transition can be used to simulate the dynamics of the A-B transition, support the experimental investigations of the A-B transition in the QUEST-DMC collaboration with the goal of identifying and quantifying the mechanism(s) responsible for nucleation of stable phases in ultra-pure metastable quantum phases.
KW - Cosmology
KW - Early universe
KW - Gravitational waves
KW - Helium 3
KW - Phase transitions
KW - Time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation
U2 - 10.1007/s10909-024-03151-9
DO - 10.1007/s10909-024-03151-9
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85182791104
VL - 215
SP - 495
EP - 524
JO - Journal of Low Temperature Physics
JF - Journal of Low Temperature Physics
SN - 0022-2291
IS - 5-6
ER -