2019/06/30 by J. Rysti, J. T. Mäkinen, S. Autti +3 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.other #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.127.115702
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 115702 (2021) · Updated version with new experimental data and interpretations; 8 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2021/06/09 · arxiv updated 2021/09/15
The formation of topological defects in continuous phase transitions is driven by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Here we study the formation of single- and half-quantum vortices during transition to the polar phase of 3He in the presence of a symmetry-breaking bias provided by the applied magnetic field. We find that vortex formation is suppressed exponentially when the length scale associated with the bias field becomes smaller than the Kibble-Zurek length. We thus demontrate an experimentally feasible shortcut to adiabaticity -- an important aspect for further understanding of phase transitions as well as for engineering applications such as quantum computers or simulators.