Superglass phase of 4He.
We study different solid phases of 4He, by means of path integral Monte Carlo simulations based on a recently developed worm algorithm. Our study includes simulations that start off from a high- gas phase, which is then "quenched" down to T = 0.2 K. The low-T properties of the system crucially depend on the initial state. While an ideal hcp crystal is a clear-cut insulator, the disordered system freezes into a superglass, i.e., a metastable amorphous solid featuring off-diagonal long-range order and superfluidity.
Boninsegni
Massimo
M
Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J1, Canada.
Prokof'ev
Nikolay
N
Svistunov
Boris
B