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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 38: Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC IV
Q 38.6: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 16. März 2011, 17:45–18:00, BAR 205
Structural Defects in Ion Chains by Quenching the External Potential: The Inhomogeneous Kibble-Zurek Mechanism — Giovanna Morigi2, Adolfo Del Campo1, Gabriele De Chiara3, Martin Plenio1, and •Alex Retzker1 — 1Universitaet Ulm, Ulm, Germany — 2Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken, Germany — 3Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
The nonequilibrium dynamics of an ion chain in a highly anisotropic trap is studied when the transverse trap frequency is quenched across the value at which the chain undergoes a continuous phase transition from a linear to a zigzag structure. Within Landau theory, an equation for the order parameter, corresponding to the transverse size of the zigzag structure, is determined when the vibrational motion is damped via laser cooling. The number of structural defects produced during a linear quench of the transverse trapping frequency is predicted and verified numerically. It is shown to obey the scaling predicted by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, when extended to take into account the spatial inhomogeneities of the ion chain in a linear Paul trap.