title: Observation of half-quantum defects in superfluid 3He-B.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: CEA-DRECAM, Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mukharsky
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Avenel
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Varoquaux