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Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 105702 (2009) [4 pages]

Causality in Condensates: Gray Solitons as Relics of BEC Formation

Wojciech H. Zurek
Theory Division, LANL, MS-B213, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
Received 3 December 2008; revised 3 February 2009; published 12 March 2009

Symmetry breaking during phase transitions can lead to the formation of topological defects (such as vortex lines in superfluids). However, the usually studied Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) have the shape of a cigar, a geometry that impedes vortex formation, survival, and detection. I show that, in elongated traps, one can expect the formation of gray solitons (long-lived, nontopological “phase defects”) as a result of the same mechanism. Their number will rise approximately in proportion to the transition rate. This steep rise is due to the increasing size of the region of the BEC cigar where the phase of the condensate wave function is chosen locally (rather than passed on from the already formed BEC).

©2009 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.105702
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.105702
PACS: 64.70.Tg; 03.65.-w; 03.75.Lm; 05.70.Fh
  • 64.70.Tg
    Quantum phase transitions
  • 03.65.-w
    Quantum mechanics
  • 03.75.Lm
    Tunneling, Josephson effect, Bose-Einstein condensates in periodic potentials, solitons, vortices and topological excitations
  • 05.70.Fh
    Phase transitions: general studies
  • YEAR: 2009

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