Spin fluid dynamics observed by magnetic fountain effect and mechanical spin pumping effect in the ferromagnetic superfluidH3eA1phase

Abstract

Systematic observations of the magnetically generated fountain pressure in the superfluid $^3$He A$_1$ have been carried out in a newly built apparatus designed to reduce the effect of thermal gradients. In the same apparatus, mechanical pumping and filtering of polarized nuclear spins were realized by the pneumatic pumping action of an electrostatically actuated membrane. In both experiments, the measured induced pressure was observed to decay at all temperatures where the A$_1$ phase appeared in magnetic fields up to 13 T and liquid pressures between 1 and 29 bar. The inferred spin relaxation rate tended to increase as the low temperature phase boundary with the A$_2$ phase (T$_{C2}$) was approached. The increase in spin relaxation rate near T$_{C2}$ can be explained by the presence of a minority spin condensate in the A$_1$ phase as predicted by Monien and Tewordt and by the application of the Leggett-Takagi theory of spin relaxation in superfluid $^3$He.