Generation and Demolishment Mechanisms of Vapor Bubble Around Hot Tungsten Filament in Superfluid Helium-4

The electric transport I-V characteristics of a tungsten filament immersed in superfluid helium are experimentally studied. The forward sweep I-V characteristics show an abrupt jump from the linear ohmic regime (C state) to the high-resistance non-ohmic regime (H state). In the H state, the filament is covered with a He gas bubble. In the C state, there is no gas bubble, that is, liquid He directly touches the filament surface. The transitions between these two states exhibit a well-developed hysteresis and bistability. The transition from the H state to the C state occurs at the equilibrium gas-liquid phase transition point, as reported by Date et al. (J Phys Soc Jpn 35(4):1190, 1973), whereas the C-to-H-state transition occurs in the superheat region.