On the feasibility of detecting quantized conductance in neutral matter

When an electrochemical potential difference (i.e., a voltage) is applied across a metal wire whose transverse dimensions are on the order of the electron's Fermi wavelength, the conductance G = I/Delta V becomes quantized in units of 2e(2)/h. We present calculations that show that when a chemical potential difference Delta mu(3) is applied across an array of small apertures whose sizes are comparable to the Fermi wavelength of He-3 in a He-3:He-4 mixture, the mass conductance G = (I-3/Delta mu(3)/m(3)*) will be quantized in units of 2m(3)*/h where m(3)* is the He-3 effective mass. We show that the mass conductance will be quantized for a 0.1% mixture passing through 10 nm diameter pores at temperatures below 25 mK. The phenomenon should be observable in a filter material made by nuclear track etching.