Investigation of impurity-helium solid phase decomposition
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abstract
The element composition of the impurity-helium solid phase (IHSP), grown by injecting helium gas jet, involving Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe atoms and N2molecules, into superfluid helium, has been studied. The measured stoichiometric ratios, S = NHe/NIm, are well over the values expected from the model of frozen together monolayer helium clusters. The theoretical possibility for the freezing of two layers helium clusters is justified in the context of the model of IHSP helium subsystem, filled the space between rigid impurity centers. The process of decomposition of impurity-helium (IH)-samples taken out of liquid helium in the temperature range 1,5-12 K and the pressure range 10-500 Torr has been studied. It is found that there are two stages of samples decomposition: a slow stage characterized by sample self-cooling and a fast one accompanied by heat release. These results suggest, that the IHSP consists of two types of helium - weakly bound and strongly bound helium - that can be assigned to the second and the first coordination helium spheres, respectively, formed around heavy impurity particles. A tendency for enhancement of IHSP thermostability with increasing the impurity mass is observed. Increase of helium vapor pressure above the sample causes the improvement of IH sample stability. Upon destruction of IH samples, containing nitrogen atoms, a thermoluminescence induced by atom recombination has been detected in the temperature region 3-4,5 K. This suggests that numerous chemical reactions may be realized in solidified helium.
