Related papers: On the origin of the decrease in the torsional osc…
The resonant period drop observed at low temperatures in torsional oscillators containing solid helium had been interpreted as a signature of supersolid. However, it was found that the shear modulus increase found in solid helium at the…
Solid He-4 is viewed as a nearly perfect Debye solid. Yet, recent calorimetry measurements by the PSU group (J. Low Temp. Phys. 138, 853 (2005) and Nature 449, 1025 (2007)) indicate that at low temperatures the specific heat has both cubic…
We calculated the glassy response of solid He-4 to torsional oscillations assuming a phenomenological glass model. Making only a few assumptions about the distribution of glassy relaxation times in a small subsystem of otherwise rigid solid…
The low temperature properties of solid $^4$He contained in porous Vycor glass have been investigated utilizing a two-mode compound torsional oscillator. At low temperatures, we find period shift signals for the solid similar to those…
Single and double torsion oscillators have been used successfully to measure the anomalous change in resonant frequency and accompanying dissipation in solid He-4. We present a glass description of the mechanical anomalies found in torsion…
Solid He4 is viewed as a nearly perfect Debye solid. Yet, recent calorimetry indicates that its low-temperature specific heat has both cubic and linear contributions. These features appear in the same temperature range ($T \sim 200$ mK)…
We have studied natural purity $^{4}$He single crystals and polycrystals between 10 and 600 mK using a torsional oscillator with a 2 cm$^{3}$ rigid cell made of sapphire with a smooth geometry. As the temperature was lowered, we observed…
Although solid helium-4 (4He) may be a supersolid it also exhibits many phenomena unexpected in that context. We studied relaxation dynamics in the resonance frequency f(T) and dissipation D(T) of a torsional oscillator containing solid…
A torsional oscillator study of solid para-hydrogen has been carried out down to 20 mK in search for evidence of superfluidity. This work was inspired by the observation of the supersolid phase in solid He-4. We found evidence of a possible…
We have carried out torsional oscillator experiments on solid $^4$He at temperatures between 1.3K and 1.9K. We discovered phenomena similar to those observed at temperatures below 0.2K, which currently are under debate regarding their…
The shear modulus of solid $^4$He exhibits an anomalous change of order 10%[1, 2] at low temperatures that is qualitatively similar to the much smaller frequency change in torsional oscillator experiments. We propose that in solid $^4$He…
Using a high-sensitivity torsional oscillator technique, we mapped the rotational and relaxational dynamics of solid helium-4 throughout the parameter range of the proposed supersolidity. We found evidence that the same microscopic…
We describe the first observations on the time-dependent dissipation when the drive level of a torsional oscillator containing solid He-4 is abruptly changed. The relaxation of dissipation in solid He-4 shows rich dynamical behavior…
Torsional oscillator experiments involving solid $^{4}$He confined in the nanoscale pores of Vycor glass showed anomalous frequency changes at temperatures below 200 mK. These were initially attributed to decoupling of some of the helium's…
The observation of reduced rotational inertia in a cell containing solid helium 4 has been interpreted as evidence for superfluidity of the solid. An alternative explanation is slippage of the solid at the container wall due to grain…
The irrotational nature of superfluid helium was discovered through its decoupling from the container under rotation. Similarly, the resonant period drop of a torsional oscillator (TO) containing solid helium was first interpreted as the…
Over the last five years several experimental groups have reported anomalies in the temperature dependence of the period and amplitude of a torsional oscillator containing solid $^4$He. We model these experiments by assuming that $^4$He is…
Superfluidity, liquid flow without friction, is familiar in helium. The first evidence for "supersolidity", its analogue in quantum solids, came from recent torsional oscillator (TO) measurements involving 4-He. At temperatures below 200…
We report torsional oscillator supersolid studies of highly disordered samples of solid $^4$He. In an attempt to approach the amorphous or glassy state of the solid, we prepare our samples by rapid freezing from the normal phase of liquid…
In 2004, Kim and Chan (KC) carried out torsional oscillator (TO) measurements of solid helium confined in porous Vycor glass and found an abrupt drop in the resonant period below 200 mK. The period drop was interpreted as probable…