Journal article Open Access

# Cosmological experiments in superfluid helium?

Zurek, W. H.

### Citation Style Language JSON Export

{
"DOI": "10.1038/317505a0",
"author": [
{
"family": "Zurek, W. H."
}
],
"issued": {
"date-parts": [
[
1985,
10,
10
]
]
},
"abstract": "Symmetry breaking phase transitions occurring in the early Universe are expected to leave behind long-lived topologically stable structures such as monopoles, strings or domain walls1\u20136. Here I discuss the analogy between cosmological strings and vortex lines in the superfluid, and suggest a cryogenic experiment which tests key elements of the cosmological scenario for string formation. In a superfluid obtained through a rapid pressure quench, the phase of the Bose condensate wavefunction\u2014the 4He analogue of the broken symmetry of the field-theoretic vacuum\u2014will be chosen randomly in domains of some characteristic size d. When the quench is performed in an annulus of circumference C the typical value of the phase mismatch around the loop will be \u223c(C/d)1/2. The resulting phase gradient can foe sufficiently large to cause the superfluid to flow with a measurable (mm s\u22121), randomly directed velocity.",
"title": "Cosmological experiments in superfluid helium?",
"type": "article-journal",
"id": "1233041"
}
247
294
views