The dynamics of superfluid 4He

Abstract

We present neutron scattering results for the dynamic response by superfluid and normal-fluid 4He and the results of a simple perturbation-theory analysis which allows us to describe all aspects of the observed behavior by considering only density fluctuations. We show that the three key features that are characteristic of the dynamic reponse of superfluid 4He, as well as their dramatic variations with temperature, can be attributed predominantly to the Bose statistics obeyed by all the 4He atoms. It appears that the presence of the Bose condensate exerts at most a minor influence on the dynamic response.