HELIUM ON NANOPATTERNED SURFACES AT FINITE TEMPERATURE

Abstract

We investigate the wetting behavior of helium on nanostructured alkali metal surfaces, at temperatures below and slightly above the bulk superfluidity threshold. Starting from a determination of the phase diagram of helium on semiinfinite planar Cs up to 3 K, performed within finite–range, temperature–dependent density functional theory, we examine the modifications of the isotherms introduced by an infinite array of nanocavities. We compare the hysterectic loops of helium on nonwettable Cs surfaces and on wettable Na substrates in the same temperature range.