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arXiv · 2202.11731

Locality of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Universal Spacing Distribution of Topological Defects Formed Across a Phase Transition

Adolfo del Campo·Fernando Javier Gómez-Ruiz·Hai-Qing Zhang
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Abstract

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 resulting nonequilibrium state and model it using a Poisson point process in arbitrary spatial dimension with KZM density. Numerical simulations in a one-dimensional $\phi^4$ theory unveil short-distance defect-defect corrections stemming from the kink excluded volume, while in two spatial dimensions, our model accurately describes the vortex spacing distribution in a strongly-coupled superconductor indicating the suppression of defect-defect spatial correlations.

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Adolfo del Campo, Fernando Javier Gómez-Ruiz, Hai-Qing Zhang. 2022-02-23. Locality of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Universal Spacing Distribution of Topological Defects Formed Across a Phase Transition. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.106.l140101

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