Studies of quantum liquids in metastable states

Abstract

Helium can be prepared with a purity much higher than any other element. As a consequence, it is an ideal material in which to study nucleation processes. We describe work in which liquid helium has been studied at pressures below the pressure range in which the liquid is the thermodynamically stable phase. This has made possible the study of a wide range of interesting phenomena including the quantum nucleation of bubbles and the imaging of the motion of single electrons moving through the liquid. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.