THERMAL NUCLEATION OF CAVITIES IN LIQUID-HELIUM AT NEGATIVE PRESSURES

We have investigated the nucleation rate at which cavities are formed in He-4 and He-3 at negative pressures due to thermal fluctuations. To this end, we have used a density functional that reproduces the He liquid-gas interface along the coexistence line. The inclusion of thermal effects in the calculation of the barrier against nucleation results in a sizable decrease of the absolute value of the tensile strength above 1.5 K.