Nucleation at quantized vortices and the heterogeneous phase separation in supersaturated superfluid 3He–4He liquid mixtures

Abstract

Supersaturated superfluid 3He–4He liquid mixture, separating into the 3He-concentrated c-phase and 3He-diluted d-phase, represents a unique possibility for studying macroscopic quantum nucleation and quantum phase-separation kinetics in binary mixtures at low temperatures down to absolute zero. One of possible heterogeneous mechanisms for the phase separation of supersaturated d-phase is associated with superfluidity of this phase and with a possible existence of quantized vortices playing a role of nucleation sites for the c-phase of liquid mixture. We analyze the growth dynamics of vortex core filled with the c-phase and determine the temperature behavior of c-phase nucleation rate and the crossover temperature between the classical and quantum nucleation mechanisms.