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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Nonsuperfluid origin of the nonclassical rotational inertia in a bulk sample of solid 4He
1Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-2501, USA. jdr13@cornell.edu
Abstract:
The torsional oscillator experiments described here examine the effect of disorder on the nonclassical rotational inertia (NCRI) of a solid 4He sample. The NCRI increases with increasing disorder, but the period changes responsible for this increase occur primarily at higher temperatures. Contrary to expectations based on a supersolid scenario, the oscillator period remains relatively unaffected at the lowest temperatures. This result points to a nonsuperfluid origin for the NCRI.
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