Defect production in non-equilibrium phase transitions: experimental investigation of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a two-qubit quantum simulator

Systems passing through quantum critical points at finite rates have a finite probability of undergoing transitions between different eigenstates of the instantaneous Hamiltonian. This mechanism was proposed by Kibble as the underlying mechanism for the formation of topological defects in the early...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New journal of physics 2017-04, Vol.19 (4), p.43001
Main Authors: Zhang, Jingfu, Cucchietti, Fernando M, Laflamme, Raymond, Suter, Dieter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
03.67.Lx
Condensed matter physics
Critical point
Eigenvectors
Kibble-Zurek mechanism
non-equilibrium phase transition
Phase transitions
Physics
quantum simulator
Qubits (quantum computing)
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Summary:Systems passing through quantum critical points at finite rates have a finite probability of undergoing transitions between different eigenstates of the instantaneous Hamiltonian. This mechanism was proposed by Kibble as the underlying mechanism for the formation of topological defects in the early universe and by Zurek for condensed matter systems. Here, we use a system of nuclear spins as an experimental quantum simulator undergoing a non-equilibrium quantum phase transition. The experimental data confirm the validity of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism of defect formation.
ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/aa6653