Optical interferometry in superfluid 3He-B

The authors report interferometric measurements in 0.1...1 mm thick films of superfluid 3He-B. The menisci of three different rotational states of the superfluid were observed and analyzed theoretically using two-fluid hydrodynamics: These are (i) the equilibrium vortex state in which the superfluid and the normal components corotate (solid body rotation), (ii) the vortex-free state (the Landau state), in which only the normal component rotates, and (iii) the quasistationary vortex state in which only the superfluid fraction rotates (pure superfluid rotation). The Landua state manifested itself by a reduced parabolic meniscus at rotation speeds below the critical angular velocity Ωc approx-lt 0.2 rad/s for vortex formation. Transition from the Landua state to the equilibrium vortex state yielded a sudden deepening of the meniscus when Ωc was exceeded. After a rapid halt of the cryostat, the authors observed a novel meniscus which was produced by the superfluid rotation while the normal component was at rest. The enhanced depth of this meniscus is governed by the reactive mutual friction parameter B'. By employing laser light, both for imaging and for thermomechanical excitation, the authors measured the response of a thin superfluid layer to a heat pulse and analyzed it within the theory of two fluid hydrodynamics. The data were employed, using the dispersion relation for thin film oscillations, to deduce the second viscosity coefficient ζ3 close to Tc