Topological defect formation in a phase transition with tunable order

Abstract

The Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) describes the non-equilibrium dynamics and topological defect formation in systems undergoing second-order phase transitions. KZM has found applications in fields such as cosmology and condensed matter physics. However, it is generally not suitable for describing first-order phase transitions. It has been demonstrated that transitions in systems like superconductors or charged superfluids, typically classified as second-order, can exhibit weakly first-order characteristics when the influence of fluctuations is taken into account. Moreover, the order of the phase transition (i.e., the extent to which it becomes first rather than second order) can be tuned. We explore quench-induced formation of topological defects in such tunable phase transitions and propose that their density can be predicted by combining KZM with nucleation theory.

Supplementary movie showing time evolution of the order parameter is available at https://fumikaphys.com/tunable.mp4 (Simplified explanation; see paper for details.) 8 pages, 5 figures

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• Is there Kibble-Zurek scaling of topological defects in first-order phase transitions?
• Kibble-Zurek dynamics in the anisotropic Ising model of the Si(001) surface
• Deconstructing symmetry breaking dynamics
• Digitized counterdiabatic quantum critical dynamics
• Dynamics of the order parameter in symmetry breaking phase transitions
• Spatial Form Factor for Point Patterns: Poisson Point Process, Coulomb Gas, and Vortex Statistics
• Algebraic law of local correlations in a driven Rydberg atomic system
• Competing Bosonic Reactions: Insight from Exactly Solvable Time-Dependent Models