Nucleation of vortices in superfluid 3He–B by thermal quench

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Abstract

We show that nucleation of vortex loops in superfluid 3He by rapid thermal quench in the presence of superflow is dominated by a transverse instability of the moving normal–superfluid interface. Exact expressions for the instability threshold as a function of supercurrent density and the front velocity are found. The results are verified by numerical solution of the Ginzburg–Landau equation.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to V. Eltsov, M. Krusius, G. Volovik and W. Zurek for stimulating discussions. This research is supported by US DOE, grant W-31-109-ENG-38, and by NSF, STCS #DMR91-20000.

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