Generation of Large Vortex-Free Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023;
131:076002. [PMID:
37656857 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.131.076002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Superfluid helium nanodroplets are an ideal environment for the formation of metastable, self-organized dopant nanostructures. However, the presence of vortices often hinders their formation. Here, we demonstrate the generation of vortex-free helium nanodroplets and explore the size range in which they can be produced. From x-ray diffraction images of xenon-doped droplets, we identify that single compact structures, assigned to vortex-free aggregation, prevail up to 10^{8} atoms per droplet. This finding builds the basis for exploring the assembly of far-from-equilibrium nanostructures at low temperatures.
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