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Eric Varoquaux

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Varoquaux.

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Anderson's considerations on the flow of superfluid helium: some offshoots

Nearly five decades have elapsed since the seminal 1966 paper of P.W. Anderson on the flow of superfluid helium, $^4$He at that time. Some of his "Considerations" -- the role of the quantum phase as a dynamical variable, the interplay between the motion of quantised vortices and potential superflow, its incidence on dissipation in the superfluid and the appearance of critical velocities, the quest for the hydrodynamic analogues of the Josephson effects in helium -- and the way they have evolved over the past half-century are recounted below. But it is due to key advances on the experimental front that phase slippage could be harnessed in the laboratory, leading to a deeper understanding of superflow, vortex nucleation, the various intrinsic and extrinsic dissipation mechanisms in superfluids, macroscopic quantum effects and the superfluid analogue of both {\it ac} and {\it dc} Josephson effects -- pivotal concepts in superfluid physics -- have been performed. Some of the experiments that have shed light on the more intimate effect of quantum mechanics on the hydrodynamics of the dense heliums are surveyed, including the nucleation of quantised vortices both by Arrhenius processes and by macroscopic quantum tunnelling, the setting up of vortex mills, and superfluid interferometry.

cond-mat.other

The low temperature elastic anomalies in solid helium

The elastic properties of hcp $^4$He samples have been shown to display various anomalies. The elastic shear modulus stiffens and the moment of rotational inertia drops when the temperature is lowered below $\sim$ 0.2 K. The relation between these two quantities is studied within the framework of classical deformable-body mechanics. A model based on the formation by plastic flow of extremely soft two-dimensional layers of dislocations is studied analytically and numerically. This model accounts quantitatively for a number of experiments. Other situations, in which it may seem less relevant, are discussed.

cond-mat.other