Related papers: Quantum Formation of Topological Defects

We study experimentally and theoretically structural defects which are formed during the transition from a laser cooled cloud to a Coulomb crystal, consisting of tens of ions in a linear radio frequency trap. We demonstrate the creation of…

Topology is a fundamental aspect of quantum physics, and it has led to key breakthroughs and results in various fields of quantum materials. In condensed matters, this has culminated in the recent discovery of symmetry-protected topological…

We investigate the coupled dynamics of symmetry breaking and phase separation during quenches across the critical point in a first-order phase transition. Based on the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory, we construct a holographic superfluid…

The topological properties of a material depend on its symmetries, parameters, and spatial dimension. Changes in these properties due to parameter and symmetry variations can be understood by computing the corresponding topological…

Topology plays a cardinal role in explaining phases and quantum phase transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. In this study, we formulate a set of models of Dirac fermions in 2+1 dimensions with…

A salient feature of topological phases are surface states and many of the widely studied physical properties are directly tied to their existence. Although less explored, a variety of topological phases can however similarly be…

Lars Onsager and Richard Feynman envisioned that the three-dimensional (3D) superfluid-to-normal $\lambda$ transition in $^{4}$He occurs through the proliferation of vortices. This process should hold for every phase transition in the same…

Topological defects attract much recent interest in high-energy and condensed matter physics because they encode (non-invertible) symmetries and dualities. We study codimension-1 topological defects from a hamiltonian point of view, with…

We discuss a variety of codimension-one, non-invertible topological defects in general 3+1d QFTs with a discrete one-form global symmetry. These include condensation defects from higher gauging of the one-form symmetries on a…

Liquid crystals are assemblies of rod-like molecules which self-organize to form mesophases, in-between ordinary liquids and anisotropic crystals. At each point, the molecules collectively orient themselves along a privileged direction,…

The Topological Hypothesis states that phase transitions should be related to changes in the topology of configuration space. The necessity of such changes has already been demonstrated. We characterize exactly the topology of the…

There are two prominent applications of the mathematical concept of topology to the physics of materials: band topology, which classifies different topological insulators and semimetals, and topological defects that represent immutable…

We present experimental and theoretical results on formation of quantum vortices in a laser beam propagating in a nonlinear medium. Topological constrains richer than the mere conservation of vorticity impose an elaborate dynamical behavior…

We study the topological properties of one dimensional systems undergoing unitary time evolution. We show that symmetries possessed both by the initial wavefunction and by the Hamiltonian at all times may not be present in the…

We consider a perfectly homogeneous and isotropic universe which undergoes a sudden phase transition. If the transition produces topological defects, which we assume, perturbations in the geometry and the cosmic fluid also suddenly appear.…

Symmetry breaking phase transitions play an important role in nature. When a system traverses such a transition at a finite rate, its causally disconnected regions choose the new broken symmetry state independently. Where such local choices…

The evolution of an initially smooth spatial inhomogeneity in the density of a one-dimensional Fermi gas is well described by classical mechanics. The classical evolution leads to the formation of a shock wave: the density develops kinks in…

In these Lectures a method is described to analyze the effect of quantum fluctuations on topological defect backgrounds up to the one-loop level. The method is based on the spectral heat kernel/zeta function regularization procedure, and it…

Topological defects are one of the most conspicuous features of liquid crystals. In two dimensional nematics, they have been shown to behave effectively as particles with both, charge and orientation, which dictate their interactions. Here,…

Rydberg atom arrays have become a key platform for studying quantum many-body systems. In these setups, defects arise naturally due to various imperfections and can significantly modify the theoretical predictions compared to an ideal…