Highly Mobile Metastable State of He-4 Thin Films: A Glass Transition by Mechanical Perturbation?

Solid layers of helium on graphite surface are known to go into a highly mobile state (HMS) once the solid layer is enforced to slip on the substrate. The HMS collapses to the stable inert state with the lifetime extending over 10(4) s. In this paper, we suggest that the HMS is a structural glass by showing the similarities between the present system and an organic conductor named BEDT-TTF. The latter was recently discovered to be an electronic glass if the cooling rate is rapid enough across the freezing temperature (Wigner crystal formation temperature). We then address a novel annealing process promoted by a local condensate which should be seen for the present He-4 case as the condensation fraction grows in the liquid overlayer.