Soliton Propagation inHe3-A

Abstract

A propagating magnetic texture has been observed in superfluid ${}_{}{}^3{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$-$A$ confined to 17-μm slabs with use of pulsed NMR. The results support a model of an expanding lattice of solitons in the order parameter. The propagation velocity approaches the spin-wave velocity as $T\to T_c$, and goes to zero for $T<\mathrm{}0.86\mathrm{}{T}_c$. Despite the narrow geometry, the solitons observed involve distortions of both the spin and orbital degrees of freedom.