Measuring the Heat Capacity of Superfluid ~4He in the Presence of a Heat Flux Near T_λ: Progress and Prospects

摘要

It has been predicted that the heat capacity of superfluid ~4He will diverge strongly at a depressed transition temperature in the presence of a constant heat flux, Q. We have built a cell to measure this effect, and have taken preliminary measurements at various heat flux values. Our data indicate an enhancement of the heat capacity that varies as a function of Q. However, the temperature dependence of our measurements leads us to believe that our initial findings were affected by spurious heat flow.