| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S20567/01 |
| Title: |
Studies of helium confined on the nanoscale |
| Principal Investigator: |
Saunders, Professor J |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
Royal Holloway, Univ of London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 March 2003 |
Ends: |
31 August 2006 |
Value (£): |
632,250
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Electronics |
Energy |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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We will conduct experiments to study the influence on the properties of helium of confinement on the nanoscale. Liquid helium is the simplest strongly correlated system, and acts as a benchmark for more complex materials. The proposed research concerns a variety of model systems for investigating correlated fermions in both one and two dimensions, as well as the influence of confinement on unconventional superfluidity. A newly developed highly sensitive mechanical resonator coupled to a thin 3He slab of typical thickness 100 nm will be used to investigate the influence on p-wave superfluidity of confinement, on a length scale comparable to the size of the Cooper pair, by measurements of the superfluid density. The sliding friction (or nanotribology) of normal 3He slabs will also be studied, exploring a new flow regime; in contrast to classical fluids the mean free path of 3He is strongly temperature dependent. The quantum confinement of 3He to nanotubes of typical diameter 2 nm will be used to create a one dimensional Fermi system of tunable line density, as a model for understanding a new state of matter- a Luttinger liquid, through NMR and heat capacity measurements. The influence of the substrate and particularly its crystalline symmetry on the properties of a 3He monolayer will be studied using new surfaces, as a model for understanding correlated fermions near a Mott-Hubbard transition, of relevance to mechanisms for high Tc superconductivity.
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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