Melting process and interface instability of highly magnetized solid He-3:Role of the magnetization gradient

We elucidate the melting process of highly magnetized solid He-3 by observi ng the magnetization profile and the liquid-solid interface simultaneously. Clear enhancements of magnetization and magnetization gradients at the int erface of both the solid and the liquid were observed during melting. These measurements provide a mesoscopic confirmation of the melting scenario of Castaing and Nozieres, and explain the long delay before the instability se ts in: The magnetization gradient in the liquid leads to an initial suppres sion of the melting instability, in accordance with our extension of the st ability analysis of Puech et al. This resolves the discrepancy between theo ry and experiment.