Abstract
Suitable ions or other charged particles can be trapped electrostatically just below the free surface of superfluid4He. Examples of such particles are the socalled “negative ion”, which is an electron in a bubble, and the so-called “positive ion”, which is a4He+ ion surrounded by a small region (“snowball”) of solid helium. The trapping mechanism can be used to create two-dimensional pools of ions. Three types of experiment can be carried out with such pools: those that relate to the ionic structure; those in which the ions are used as probes of the properties of the superfluid helium; and those in which the pools are studied as examples of simple two-dimensional fluids or solids. Experiments that have been carried out so far are reviewed, and prospects for the future are assessed.
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Vinen, W.F. Ions trapped near the free surface of superfluid helium: A review. Z. Physik B - Condensed Matter 98, 299–301 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01338393
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01338393