Observation of half-quantum defects in superfluid 3He-B.
In the course of high-precision measurements of the relation between the superflow current J through a weak link in 3He-B and the difference in order parameter phase between each side of the link phi in a flexible wall Helmholtz resonator equipped with a rotation pickup loop, we have observed the signature of a stable textural defect that sustains a change of the phase by pi across it. "Cosmiclike" solitons, proposed by Salomaa and Volovik and hitherto thought unstable, can constitute such a defect.
Mukharsky
Yu
Y
CEA-DRECAM, Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
Avenel
O
O
Varoquaux
E
E