Dynamics of the Vortex-Particle Complexes Bound to the Free Surface of Superfluid Helium.

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the 2D dynamics of electrically charged nanoparticles trapped under a free surface of superfluid helium in a static vertical electric field. We focus on the dynamics of particles driven by the interaction with quantized vortices terminating at the free surface. We identify two types of particle trajectories and the associated vortex structures: vertical linear vortices pinned at the bottom of the container and half-ring vortices traveling along the free surface of the liquid.

Taylor cone and electrospraying at a free surface of superfluid helium charged from below.

Electrically charged metallic micro- and nanoparticles are trapped under a free surface of superfluid He in a vertical static electric field. We observe a static deformation of the charged liquid surface in the form of a Taylor cone and the emission of a charged liquid helium jet (electrospray). Our numeric calculations reproduce the static shape of the cone.

Metallic nanowires and mesoscopic networks on a free surface of superfluid helium and charge-shuttling across the liquid-gas interface.

We investigate the motion of electrically charged metallic nano- and microparticles produced by laser ablation in He gas and injected into superfluid helium. In the presence of a vertical static electric field, the particles either perform a repetitive shuttle-like motion transporting the charge across the liquid-gas interface or become trapped under the free surface of liquid He and coalesce into long filaments and complex two-dimensional mesoscopic networks. A classical electrohydrodynamic model is used to describe the motion of charged microparticles in superfluid He. The resulting filaments and networks are analyzed using electron microscopy. It is demonstrated that each filament is in fact composed of a large number of nanowires with a characteristic diameter of order of 10 nm and extremely large aspect ratios.

Spectroscopy of Mn atoms isolated in solid 4He.

We present an experimental study of the laser-induced luminescence spectra of Mn atoms in solid helium matrices. We observe transitions of the valence electron and of inner-shell electrons. We find that the Mn-He interaction perturbs the inner-shell transitions to a lesser extent than the valence-electron transitions. The observed lineshapes of the inner-shell transitions of Mn are similar to those of an inner-shell transition in Ba studied earlier. At the same time, they are more strongly perturbed than the corresponding transitions in Au and Cu under the same conditions. We suggest a qualitative explanation of these observations based on the atomic bubble model. Our results also suggest that the inner-shell transitions of Mn in solid He are more strongly perturbed than the same lines of Mn isolated in solid Ar or Kr matrices.

Spectroscopy of gold atoms isolated in liquid and solid 4He matrices.

We present a systematic experimental study of absorption and fluorescence spectra of Au atoms in bulk liquid and solid helium matrices. The results are compared to the spectra of Cu atoms studied earlier. We investigate the dependence of the observed spectral lineshapes on the helium pressure. The observed splitting of the 5d(10)6p - 5d(9)6s(2) transitions of Au in hcp solid He gives evidence for an anisotropic trapping site structure formed either by a non-spherical atomic bubble or a four-vacancy center.

Spectroscopy of nonspherical atomic bubbles in solid helium.

We analyze the effect of the host crystal symmetry on the optical spectra of the 6P(1/2)-6S(1/2) and 6P(3/2)-6S(1/2) transitions of atomic Cs in solid (4)He matrices. In particular, we address the deformation of the bubble structures formed by Cs in such quantum crystals. We show that the anisotropy of the stiffness tensor leads to static quadrupolar bubble shape deformations in hexagonally close-packed (hcp) crystals, while the corresponding deformations in the body-centered cubic (bcc) phase of the matrix have a hexadecupolar symmetry. A comparison of the measured excitation spectra with our model calculations allow us to infer quantitative values of the deformation parameters.

Spectroscopy of Cs2, RbCs, and Rb2 in solid 4He.

We present comparative experimental and theoretical studies of the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the alkali-metal dimer molecules Cs(2) and RbCs immersed in a solid helium matrix, thereby extending our recent observations of Rb(2) in solid (4)He. The laser-excited molecular states are mostly quenched by the interaction with the He matrix. The quenching efficiently populates the second lowest excited state of the molecule, i.e., (1) (3)Π((u)) that is metastable in the homonuclear dimers. Molecular excitation and emission bands are modeled by calculating Franck-Condon factors that give a reasonable agreement with the experimental findings.

Spectroscopy of the copper dimer in normal fluid, superfluid, and solid (4)He.

Copper atoms and molecules are laser ablated into bulk liquid and solid helium, and the emission spectra of the laser excited D→X, B→X, and a→X transitions of Cu(2) are observed to exhibit clearly resolved vibrational bands. Surprisingly, for the D→X and the B→X transitions, no differences were observed for superfluid He at 1.5 K, for the normal liquid at 2.65 K, or for the 1.5 K solid at higher pressures of about 30 bars. An interpretation based on the bubble model indicates that the interaction with the He matrix is much weaker than in the case of the alkali atoms. Compared to other solid rare gas matrices, the line shifts and line widths in condensed helium are much smaller by nearly an order of magnitude.

Positive ion induced solidification of 4He.

We have observed bulk solidification of 4He induced by nucleation on positive alkali ions in pressurized superfluid helium. The ions are extracted into the liquid from alkali-doped solid He by a static electric field. The experiments prove the existence of charged particles in a solid structure composed of doped He that was recently shown to coexist with superfluid helium below the He solidification pressure. This supports our earlier suggestion that the Coulomb interaction of positive ions surrounded by a solid He shell (snowballs) and electrons trapped in spherical cavities (electron bubbles), together with surface tension, is responsible for the stability of that structure against melting. We have determined the density of charges in the sample by two independent methods.

Cs*He(n) exciplexes in solid 4He.

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the laser-induced formation process and of the emission spectra of Cs*He(n) exciplexes in the hcp and bcc phases of solid helium. Two different exciplex molecules are detected: a linear triatomic Cs*He2, which can exist in two electronic states: APi(1/2) and BPi(3/2), and a larger complex, where six or seven He atoms form a ring around a single cesium atom in the 6P(1/2) state. A theoretical model is presented, which allows the interpretation of the experimentally observed spectra.

Discovery of dumbbell-shaped Cs*Hen exciplexes in solid 4He.

We have observed several new spectral features in the fluorescence of cesium atoms implanted in the hcp phase of solid helium following laser excitation to the 62P states. Based on calculations of the emission spectra using semiempirical Cs-He pair potentials the newly discovered lines can be assigned to the decay of specific Cs*Hen exciplexes: an apple-shaped Cs(APi3/2)He2 and a dumbbell-shaped Cs(APi1/2)Hen exciplex with a well-defined number n of bound helium atoms. While the former has been observed in other environments, it was commonly believed that exciplexes with n>2 might not exist. The calculations suggest Cs(APi1/2)He7 to be the most probable candidate for that exciplex, in which the helium atoms are arranged on a ring around the waist of the dumbbell-shaped electronic density distribution of the cesium atom.