Helium

Helium (He) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Helium research intensity currently sits at about 25% of the element's own all-time peak, a level that has held steady over the last decade despite the all-time high occurring in 1971.

Research intensity ran from about 28% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 25% in 2026 — flat overall, with some movement in between, and the all-time peak (1971) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements held steady. Among the 118 elements, helium has a mid-sized research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 15,283 in 2016 to about 27,423 in 2025 (1.79x). That is slower than the literature as a whole grew over the same years, so the element lost ground in the wider body of research even as its own count rose.

The literature is composed of several distinct research communities, each with a specific focus on how helium behaves in different physical contexts. The largest material community is Helium Bubble Formation in Fusion Materials, which accounts for about 15.5% of the element's recent research and has remained steady. This group studies helium ion implantation, plasma irradiation, and bubble evolution in structural materials for fusion reactors, where helium is one strand of a broader community—about 15% of its papers involve helium. A key paper here is "Power and particle exhaust in the ST-E1 fusion power plant" (2026), cited about 11 times, alongside "A quinary WTaCrVHf nanocrystalline refractory high-entropy alloy withholding extreme irradiation environments" (2023), cited over 150 times.

Superfluid Helium, Noble Gas Physics, and Cryogenic Engineering is another major area, though its share has declined from 19.0% to 13.8% of the element's research. Here, helium is central to the community, with about 52% of its papers involving the element. The work focuses on quantum turbulence, cryogenic systems, and helium nanodroplets. The community’s anchor includes "Geometry, Topology and Physics" (2018), cited over 1,500 times, and a recent high-impact study, "Rotating curved spacetime signatures from a giant quantum vortex" (2024), cited about 53 times.

Helium Nucleosynthesis in Stellar Evolution and Cosmology holds about 12.9% of the element's research, a steady share. This community models helium production in massive stars, supernovae, and the early universe, where helium is one strand of a broader field—about 15% of its papers involve helium. It is anchored by the highly cited "Planck 2018 results" (2020), cited over 14,000 times, and more recent work like "The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR6 constraints on extended cosmological models" (2025), cited over 140 times.

Finally, Helium Ionization and Double Excitation in Plasma Discharges accounts for about 12.6% of the research, a steady share. This group examines helium ionization thresholds and double ionization within atmospheric pressure discharges, where helium is one strand of a broader community—about 25% of its papers involve helium. Notable work includes "Applications of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Technology in Medicine, Agriculture and Food Industry" (2021), cited over 300 times, and "Measuring the quantum state of photoelectrons" (2025), cited about 33 times.

Overall, the composition of helium research has shifted slightly, with the superfluid and cryogenic community losing share while the remainder of the literature—comprising various smaller or emerging areas—has grown to hold about 45.2% of the element's recent research.

For a deeper look at the current state of helium research, see the element's Last 12 Months report or Executive Brief.