The program focuses on the thermodynamic properties of films (one to several layers thick) of the so-called "quantum fluids and solids" (molecular hydrogens; atomic heliums and their mixtures), formed on the solid surface of clean, very well characterized substrates. Specific topics addressed include solidification of molecular hydrogen in a monolayer, to search for a low-temperature liquid phase and possible superfluidity; liquid condensation of helium 4 adsorbed on hydrogen in a monolayer; fluid behavior of helium 3 on a substrate of square symmetry; interfacial melting in porous media; and the development of new substrates. %%% This program studies the phenomenon of adsorption as it applies to quantum fluids and the modification of the fluid properties occasioned by constraining them to thin layers. Beyond advancing their understanding of these very unusual fluids, the work offers the possibility of discovering new phenomena in the area of superfluids.
