2000/07/31 by V. B. Eltsov, T. W. B. Kibble, M. Krusius +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat #gr-qc #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.85.4739
published as Phys.Rev.Lett.85:4739-4742,2000 · RevTeX file, 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett., modified according to referee report
arxiv created 2000/10/03 · arxiv updated 2014/10/13
Spin-mass vortices have been observed to form in rotating superfluid 3He-B following the absorption of a thermal neutron and a rapid transition from the normal to superfluid state. The spin-mass vortex is a composite defect which consists of a planar soliton (wall) which terminates on a linear core (string). This observation fits well within the framework of a cosmological scenario for defect formation, known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. It suggests that in the early Universe analogous cosmological defects might have formed.