14 research outputs found
The Onset of Phase Transitions in Condensed Matter and Relativistic QFT
Kibble and Zurek have provided a unifying causal picture for the appearance
of topological defects like cosmic strings or vortices at the onset of phase
transitions in relativistic QFT and condensed matter systems respectively.
There is no direct experimental evidence in QFT, but in condensed matter the
predictions are largely, but not wholly, supported in superfluid experiments on
liquid helium. We provide an alternative picture for the initial appearance of
strings/vortices that is commensurate with all the experimental evidence from
condensed matter and consider some of its implications for QFT.Comment: 37 pages, to be published in Condensed Matter Physics, 200
Ortho-para transition in molecular hydrogen
The radiative ortho-para transition in the molecular hydrogen is studied.
This highly forbidden transition is very sensitive to relativistic and subtle
nonadiabatic effects. Our result for the transition rate in the ground
vibrational level \Gamma(J=1\to J=0) = 6.20(62)\cdot 10^{-14} \iyr is
significantly lower in comparison to all the previous approximate calculations.
Experimental detection of such a weak line by observation of, for example, the
cold interstellar molecular hydrogen is at present unlikely.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Testing the Kibble-Zurek Scenario with Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions
In parallel with Kibble's description of the onset of phase transitions in
the early universe, Zurek has provided a simple picture for the onset of phase
transitions in condensed matter systems, strongly supported by agreement with
experiments in He3. In this letter we show how experiments with annular
Josephson tunnel Junctions can and do provide further support for this
scenario.Comment: Revised version with correct formula for the Swihart velocity. The
results are qualitatively the same as with the previous version but differ
quantitatively. 4 pages, RevTe
Estimation of vortex density after superconducting film quench
This paper addresses the problem of vortex formation during a rapid quench in
a superconducting film. It builds on previous work showing that in a local
gauge theory there are two distinct mechanisms of defect formation, based on
fluctuations of the scalar and gauge fields, respectively. We show how vortex
formation in a thin film differs from the fully two-dimensional case, on which
most theoretical studies have focused. We discuss ways of testing theoretical
predictions in superconductor experiments and analyse the results of recent
experiments in this light.Comment: 7 pages, no figure
Dynamics of Quantum Phase Transition in an Array of Josephson Junctions
We study the dynamics of the Mott insulator-superfluid quantum phase
transition in a periodic 1D array of Josephson junctions. We show that crossing
the critical point diabatically i.e. at a finite rate with a quench time
induces finite quantum fluctuations of the current around the loop
proportional to . This scaling could be experimentally verified
with in array of weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates or superconducting
grains.Comment: 4 pages in RevTex, 3 .eps figures; 2 references added; accepted for
publication in Phys.Rev.Let
Fluxoid dynamics in superconducting thin film rings
We have measured the dynamics of individual magnetic fluxoids entering and
leaving photolithographically patterned thin film rings of the underdoped
high-temperature superconductor BiSrCaCuO, using a
variable sample temperature scanning SQUID microscope. These results can be
qualitatively described using a model in which the fluxoid number changes by
thermally activated nucleation of a Pearl vortex in, and transport of the Pearl
vortex across, the ring wall.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, fixed typo
Measuring Cosmic Defect Correlations in Liquid Crystals
From the theory of topological defect formation proposed for the early
universe, the so called Kibble mechanism, it follows that the density
correlation functions of defects and anti-defects in a given system should be
completely determined in terms of a single length scale , the relevant
domain size. Thus, when lengths are expressed in units of , these
distributions should show universal behavior, depending only on the symmetry of
the order parameter, and space dimensions. We have verified this prediction by
analyzing the distributions of defects/anti-defects formed in the
isotropic-nematic phase transition in a thin layer of nematic liquid crystals.
Our experimental results confirm this prediction and are in reasonable
agreement with the results of numerical simulations.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, minor changes, few new references adde