Exact Solutions of the Equations of Motion of Liquid Helium with a Charged Free Surface

Abstract

The dynamics of the development of instability of the free surface of liquid helium, which is charged by electrons localized above it, is studied. It is shown that, if the charge completely screens the electric field above the surface and its magnitude is much larger then the instability threshold, the asymptotic behavior of the system can be described by the well-known 3D Laplacian growth equations. The integrability of these equations in 2D geometry makes it possible to described the evolution of the surface up to the formation of singularities, viz., cuspidal point at which the electric field strength, the velocity of the liquid, and the curvature of its surface assume infinitely large values. The exact solutions obtained for the problem of the electrocapillary wave profile at the boundary of liquid helium indicate the tendency to a charge in the surface topology as a result of formation of charged bubbles.