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Quantum Kibble-Zurek Mechanism in a Spin-1 Bose-Einstein Condensate
M Anquez1, B A Robbins1, H M Bharath1
1School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Abstract:
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.
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