Related papers: Global topological k-defects
Topological defects can arise in symmetry breaking models where the scalar field potential $V(\phi)$ has no minima and is a monotonically decreasing function of $|\phi|$. The properties of such vacuumless defects are quite different from…
Symmetry-breaking phase transitions are ubiquitous in condensed matter systems and in quantum field theories. There is also good reason to believe that they feature in the very early history of the Universe. At many such transitions…
When traversing a symmetry breaking second order phase transition at a finite rate, topological defects form whose number dependence on the quench rate is given by simple power laws. We propose a general approach for the derivation of such…
We present a study of the 3d O(2) non-linear $\sigma$-model on the lattice, which exhibits topological defects in the form of vortices. They tend to organize into vortex lines that bear close analogies with global cosmic strings. Therefore,…
When a quantum phase transition is crossed in finite time, critical slowing down leads to the breakdown of adiabatic dynamics and the formation of topological defects. The average density of defects scales with the quench rate following a…
Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we test the hypothesis that the density of corresponding topological defects has an universal value at the temperature of a continuous phase transition. We consider several simple two-dimensional…
We investigate the global structure of topological defects which wrap a submanifold $F\subset M$ in a quantum field theory defined on a closed manifold $M$. The Pontryagin-Thom construction oversees the interplay between the global…
We demonstrate that field theories involving explicit breaking of continous symmetries, incorporate two generic classes of topological defects each of which is stable for a particular range of parameters. The first class includes defects of…
Defects are a ubiquitous feature of ordered media. They have certain universal features, independent of the underlying physical system, reflecting their topological origins. While the topological properties of defects are robust, they…
A class of five-dimensional warped solutions is presented. The geometry is everywhere regular and tends to five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space for large absolute values of the bulk coordinate. The physical features of the solutions change…
The crossing of a continuous phase transition results in the formation of topological defects with a density predicted by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM). We characterize the spatial distribution of point-like topological defects in the…
Active nematics are fluids in which the components have nematic symmetry and are driven out of equilibrium due to the microscopic generation of an active stress. When the active stress is high, it drives flows in the nematic and can lead to…
We obtain solutions of Einstein's equations describing gravitational field outside a noncanonical global monopole with cosmological constant. In particular, we consider two models of k-monopoles: the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) and the…
The experiments on verification of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism showed that topological defects are formed most efficiently in the systems of small size or low (quasi-)dimensionality, whereas in the macroscopic two- and three-dimensional…
The chain of events usually understood to lead to the formation of topological defects during phase transitions is known as the Kibble mechanism. A central component of the mechanism is the so-called ``geodesic rule''. Although in the…
A phase transition is an example of a ``topological defect'' in the space of parameters of a quantum or classical many-body systems. In this paper, we consider phase diagram topological defects of higher codimension. These have the property…
We revisit the velocity-dependent one-scale model for topological defect evolution, and present a new alternative formulation in terms of a physical (rather than invariant) characteristic length scale. While the two approaches are…
Topological defects (TDs) are crucial for understanding important physical properties of crystalline materials including mechanical failure, ion transport, and two-dimensional melting. This concept has not translated to disordered materials…
We analyze the consequences of a recent argument justifying the validity of the "geodesic rule" which can be used to determine the density of global topological defects. We derive a formula that provides a rough estimate of the number of…
We study the influence of topology on the quench dynamics of a system driven across a quantum critical point. We show how the appearance of certain edge states, which fully characterise the topology of the system, dramatically modifies the…