Electron emission in superfluid and low temperature vapor phase helium

Abstract

Tungsten filaments used as sources of electrons in a low-temperature liquid or gaseous helium environment have remarkable properties of operating at thousands of degrees kelvin in surroundings at temperatures of order 1K. We provide an explanation of this performance in terms of important changes in the thermal transport mechanisms. The behavior can be cast as a first-order phase transition. © 2008 The American Physical Society.