arXiv · cond-mat/0508267
Helium condensation in aerogel: avalanches and disorder-induced phase transition
Abstract
We present a detailed numerical study of the elementary condensation events (avalanches) associated to the adsorption of $^4$He in silica aerogels. We use a coarse-grained lattice-gas description and determine the nonequilibrium behavior of the adsorbed gas within a local mean-field analysis, neglecting thermal fluctuations and activated processes. We investigate the statistical properties of the avalanches, such as their number, size and shape along the adsorption isotherms as a function of gel porosity, temperature, and chemical potential. Our calculations predict the existence of a line of critical points in the temperature-porosity diagram where the avalanche size distribution displays a power-law behavior and the adsorption isotherms have a universal scaling form. The estimated critical exponents seem compatible with those of the field-driven Random Field Ising Model at zero temperature.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
F. Detcheverry, E. Kierlik, M. L. Rosinberg, G. Tarjus. 2005-10-06. Helium condensation in aerogel: avalanches and disorder-induced phase transition. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.72.051506
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.