Controlling the Phase Transition in Superfluid Helium-3

W hen a system that can be described by the 2D Ising model cools, it transitions from having a paramagnetic phase to having a ferromagnetic one via a continuous phase transition. During such a phase transition, magnetic defects can form in the material, creating a nonuniform final ferromagnetic phase. Juho Rysti of Aalto University, Finland, and colleagues now show that they can suppress the formation of these defects in superfluid helium-3—when it undergoes a 3D continuous phase