Abstract
Despite the superfluid1,2 character of 4He below the λ transition temperature, there are two distinct mechanisms by which an object moving through the liquid dissipates kinetic energy: (1) it can scatter3–5 the excitations (rotons, phonons, 3He isotopic impurities) that constitute the normal fluid component; and (2) for speeds in excess of the Landau critical velocity6 (VL), it can create rotons3, apparently in pairs7,8. The first process has been studied extensively, mostly by measurements of the zero-field mobilities of positive and negative ions3–5,9–11. The second process, which is much rarer, has also been investigated in considerable detail12–14 by studies of the motion of negative ions in isotopically pure 4He at elevated pressures. Here, we report an attempt to extend the latter type of investigation to lower pressures. This yields unexpected results that can be accounted for satisfactorily only if we postulate the existence of a third dissipation mechanism.
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Nancolas, G., Ellis, T., McClintock, P. et al. A new form of energy dissipation by a moving object in He II. Nature 316, 797–799 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316797a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/316797a0
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