Abstract
We discuss the first experimental observations of a deficit in the thermal energy released after the exothermic neutron-3He nuclear reaction in superfluid3He at temperatures approaching 100μK. We propose that this deficit is associated with the creation of a vortex tangle as the liquid3He recrosses the superfluid transition. This process has many similarities with the theory of cosmic string creation during the GUT and electroweak transitions shortly after the Big Bang. Our measurements constitute the first quantitative test of defect creation via the cosmological Kibble mechanism for gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions and agree very well with the predictions of Zurek's scenario.
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