Quantum Kibble-Zurek Mechanism in a Spin-1 Bose-Einstein Condensate

The dynamics of a quantum phase transition are explored using slow quenches from the polar to the broken-axisymmetry phases in a small spin-1 ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate. Measurements of the evolution of the spin populations reveal a power-law scaling of the temporal onset of excitations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 116; no. 15; p. 155301
Main Authors Anquez, M, Robbins, B A, Bharath, H M, Boguslawski, M, Hoang, T M, Chapman, M S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 15.04.2016
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Summary:The dynamics of a quantum phase transition are explored using slow quenches from the polar to the broken-axisymmetry phases in a small spin-1 ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate. Measurements of the evolution of the spin populations reveal a power-law scaling of the temporal onset of excitations versus quench speed as predicted from quantum extensions of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. The satisfactory agreement of the measured scaling exponent with the analytical theory and numerical simulations provides experimental confirmation of the quantum Kibble-Zurek model.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.116.155301