Homogeneous spin precession in rotating vortex-freeHe3-B: Measurement of the superfluid density anisotropy

Abstract

In transverse NMR at high rf excitation, it is possible to separate a $^{3}\mathit{B}$ sample into two magnetic domains. In one domain the spins are precessing coherently with a large tilting angle in relation to the polarizing magnetic field while in the other they are stationary and oriented parallel to the field. We have studied the two-domain system during vortex-free rotation and found that the boundary region between the precessing and static domains is sensitive to superfluid counterflow, flowing parallel to the boundary. The volume of the precessing domain decreases and the NMR absorption, associated with spin diffusion across the boundary, increases. The shift of the domain boundary is analyzed in terms of the competition between the kinetic energy of counterflow and the gradient in the Zeeman energy. From the shift we obtain the superfluid density anisotropy, induced by the magnetic field. A calculation in the weak-coupling approximation explains only half of the measured ansiotropy at low pressures. At high pressures the discrepancy is smaller.