# Suppressing the Kibble-Zurek mechanism by a symmetry-violating bias

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that applying a symmetry-breaking bias, like a magnetic field, exponentially suppresses vortex formation during phase transitions in superfluid helium-3, offering a practical method to control defect creation.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to suppress topological defect formation by using a symmetry-violating bias, providing a feasible shortcut to adiabaticity in phase transitions.

## Key findings

- Vortex formation is exponentially suppressed when the bias length scale is smaller than the Kibble-Zurek length.
- The method offers a practical way to control defect formation in quantum phase transitions.
- Potential applications in quantum computing and simulation are discussed.

## Abstract

The formation of topological defects in continuous phase transitions is driven by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Here we study the formation of single- and half-quantum vortices during transition to the polar phase of $^3$He in the presence of a symmetry-breaking bias provided by the applied magnetic field. We find that vortex formation is suppressed exponentially when the length scale associated with the bias field becomes smaller than the Kibble-Zurek length. We thus demontrate an experimentally feasible shortcut to adiabaticity -- an important aspect for further understanding of phase transitions as well as for engineering applications such as quantum computers or simulators.