Realization of inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario with trapped Bose gases

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario in trapped Bose gases, showing how an equilibrium system with broken symmetry can be driven into a symmetric, nonequilibrium state with topological defects through perturbations, validated by experiments and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces and experimentally verifies the inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario in Bose-Einstein condensates, combining experimental and numerical approaches.

Findings

Successful realization of inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario in Bose gases

Good agreement between experimental and numerical results

Observation of topological defect formation during the process

Abstract

We show that there exists the inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario, when we start with an equilibrium system with broken symmetry and, by imposing perturbations, transform it to a strongly nonequilibrium symmetric state through the sequence of states with spontaneously arising topological defects. We demonstrate the inverse Kibble-Zurek scenario both experimentally, by perturbing the Bose-Einstein condensate of trapped $^{87}$Rb atoms, and also by accomplishing numerical simulations for the same setup as in the experiment, the experimental and numerical results being in good agreement with each other.