Experimental Properties of LiquidHe3near the Absolute Zero

Abstract

Measurements of the coefficients of spin diffusion, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of liquid ${\mathrm{He}}^3$ at very low temperatures and at pressures of 0.28 and 27.0 atm are discussed critically on the basis of a theory by Rice of transport in nearly ferromagnetic Fermi liquids. It is found that the temperature dependence of the thermal-conductivity coefficient is qualitatively similar to that predicted by Rice. However, neither the spin-diffusion coefficient nor the viscosity coefficient, as determined from ultrasonic attenuation measurements, is known precisely enough to give a good test of the Rice theory in the low-temperature limit. It is suggested on the basis of qualitative data that the anomalously low thermal boundary resistance between cerium magnesium nitrate and pure ${\mathrm{He}}^3$ may result from the nearly persistent spin-fluctuation phenomenon.