Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 114-118 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Physica B: Condensed Matter |
| Volume | 460 |
| Early online date | 9 Dec 2014 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
We use laser-cooled ion Coulomb crystals in the well-controlled environment of a harmonic radiofrequency ion trap to investigate phase transitions and defect formation. Topological defects in ion Coulomb crystals (kinks) have been recently proposed for studies of nonlinear physics with solitons and as carriers of quantum information. Defects form when a symmetry breaking phase transition is crossed nonadiabatically. For a second order phase transition, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts that the formation of these defects follows a power law scaling in the rate of the transition. We demonstrate a scaling of defect density and describe kink dynamics and stability. We further discuss the implementation of mass defects and electric fields as first steps toward controlled kink preparation and manipulation.
Keywords
- Coulomb crystals, Ion, Kibble-, Kink solitons, Topological defects, Zurek mechanism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Engineering(all)
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
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In: Physica B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 460, 01.03.2015, p. 114-118.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Structural phase transitions and topological defects in ion Coulomb crystals
AU - Partner, Heather L.
AU - Nigmatullin, Ramil
AU - Burgermeister, Tobias
AU - Keller, Jonas
AU - Pyka, Karsten
AU - Plenio, Martin B.
AU - Retzker, Alex
AU - Zurek, Wojciech H.
AU - Del Campo, Adolfo
AU - Mehlstäubler, Tanja E.
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - We use laser-cooled ion Coulomb crystals in the well-controlled environment of a harmonic radiofrequency ion trap to investigate phase transitions and defect formation. Topological defects in ion Coulomb crystals (kinks) have been recently proposed for studies of nonlinear physics with solitons and as carriers of quantum information. Defects form when a symmetry breaking phase transition is crossed nonadiabatically. For a second order phase transition, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts that the formation of these defects follows a power law scaling in the rate of the transition. We demonstrate a scaling of defect density and describe kink dynamics and stability. We further discuss the implementation of mass defects and electric fields as first steps toward controlled kink preparation and manipulation.
AB - We use laser-cooled ion Coulomb crystals in the well-controlled environment of a harmonic radiofrequency ion trap to investigate phase transitions and defect formation. Topological defects in ion Coulomb crystals (kinks) have been recently proposed for studies of nonlinear physics with solitons and as carriers of quantum information. Defects form when a symmetry breaking phase transition is crossed nonadiabatically. For a second order phase transition, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts that the formation of these defects follows a power law scaling in the rate of the transition. We demonstrate a scaling of defect density and describe kink dynamics and stability. We further discuss the implementation of mass defects and electric fields as first steps toward controlled kink preparation and manipulation.
KW - Coulomb crystals
KW - Ion
KW - Kibble-
KW - Kink solitons
KW - Topological defects
KW - Zurek mechanism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85027924746&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.physb.2014.11.051
DO - 10.1016/j.physb.2014.11.051
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85027924746
VL - 460
SP - 114
EP - 118
JO - Physica B: Condensed Matter
JF - Physica B: Condensed Matter
SN - 0921-4526
ER -