In this paper we study the coarsening dynamics of a spinor condensate quenched into an easy-axis ferromagnetic phase by a sudden change in the quadratic Zeeman energy. We show that applying a spin rotation prior to changing the Zeeman energy accelerates the development of local order and reduces heating. We examine the longitudinal spin ordering and the superfluid ordering of the system and show that the respective order parameter correlation functions exhibit dynamic scaling in the late-time dynamics. Our results also demonstrate that these two types of order grow at different rates, i.e., with different dynamic critical exponents. The spin domain area distribution is calculated and is shown to have power-law scaling behavior expected from percolation theory.
We examine the dynamics of a quasi-two-dimensional spin-1 condensate in which the quadratic Zeeman energy
q is suddenly quenched to a value where the system has a ferromagnetic ground state. There are two distinct types of ferromagnetic phases, i.e., a range of
q values where the magnetization prefers to be in the direction of the external field (easy axis) and a range of
q values where it prefers to be transverse to the field (easy plane). We study the quench dynamics for a variety of
q values and show that there is a single dynamic critical exponent to characterize the scale-invariant domain growth for each ferromagnetic phase. For both quenches we give simple analytic models that capture the essential scale-invariant dynamics and correctly predict the exponents. Because the order parameter for each phase is different, the natures of the domains and the relevant topological defects in each type of coarsening are also different. To explore these differences we characterize the fractal dimension of the domain walls and the relationship of polar-core spin vortices to the domains in the easy-plane phase. Finally, we consider how the energy liberated from the quench thermalizes in the easy-axis quench. We show that local equilibrium is established in the spin waves on moderate time scales, but continues to evolve as the domains anneal.
We investigate the phase-transition dynamics of a quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate from the easy-axis polar phase to the easy-plane polar phase, which is initiated by suddenly changing the sign of the quadratic Zeeman energy
q. We observe the emergence and decay of spin turbulence and the formation of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the quenched condensate. The characteristic time and length scales of the turbulence generation dynamics are proportional to ${|q|}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$ as inherited from the dynamic instability of the initial state. In the evolution of the spin turbulence, spin-wave excitations develop from large to small length scales, suggesting a direct energy cascade, and the spin population for the axial polar domains exhibit a nonexponential decay. The final equilibrated condensate contains HQVs, and the number is found to increase and saturate with increasing
∣q∣. Our results demonstrate the time-space scaling properties of the phase-transition dynamics near the critical point and the peculiarities of the spin-turbulence state of the antiferromagnetic spinor condensate.
We show that an out-of-equilibrium percolation transition occurs after quenching ferromagnetic Ising-like systems across their magnetic first-order transitions. As a paradigmatic example, we consider a two-dimensional Ising system driven across its low-temperature first-order transition line by a quench of the magnetic field
h from
hi<0 to
h>0. In the thermodynamic limit and for finite values of
h, the post-quench evolution under a purely relaxational dynamics is characterized by a dynamic transition at a finite critical time
tc(h) from the metastable negatively magnetized phase to the positive one, marked by the percolation of the largest clusters of positive and negative spins. This out-of-equilibrium percolation transition displays a finite-size scaling behavior as in the standard random-percolation case. However, while the fractal dimension of the percolating clusters is consistent with the random-percolation value, the exponent controlling the approach to criticality differs and depends on
h. We also show that the percolation critical behavior is related to the spinodal-like behavior of the magnetization in the small-
h limit, which implies that the percolation time
tc(h) exhibits a spinodal-like exponential dependence on
h.
We analyze the out-of-equilibrium relaxational dynamics of ferromagnetic Ising-like systems driven across their low-temperature magnetic first-order transition (FOT) line, by sudden and slow variations of an external homogenous magnetic field
h. As a paradigmatic example, we consider a two-dimensional Ising system driven across its low-temperature FOT line by suddently quenching
h from
hi<0 to
h>0, inducing a transition from the negatively to the positively magnetized phase. We show the emergence of a dynamic percolation transition at a finite critical time
tc(h) along the post-quench evolution for finite (sufficiently small) values of
h, which is marked by the percolation of the largest positive-spin cluster and the antipercolation of the largest negative-spin cluster. This out-of-equilibrium percolation transition displays a finite-size scaling behavior as in the standard random-percolation case. However, while the fractal dimension of the percolating clusters is consistent with the random-percolation value, the exponent controlling the approach to criticality differs and depends on
h. We also show that the percolation transition marks the passage from the metastable negatively-magnetized phase to the stable positively-magnetized one. Therefore, in the small-
h limit, the percolation critical behavior is related to the spinodal-like behavior of the magnetization, implying that the percolation time
tc(h) exhibits a spinodal-like exponential dependence on
h. The existence of percolation transitions is likely a generic phenomenon at magnetic Ising-like FOTs. For example, we observe an analogous behavior in dynamic (Kibble-Zurek-like) protocols entailing slow variations of the magnetic field driving the crossing of the FOT line.
We demonstrate that a quasi-two-dimensional spin-1 condensate quenched to a ferromagnetic phase undergoes universal coarsening in its late time dynamics. The quench can be implemented by a sudden change in the applied magnetic field and, depending on the final value, the ferromagnetic phase has easy-axis (Ising) or easy-plane (XY) symmetry, with different dynamical critical exponents. Our results for the easy-plane phase reveal a fractal domain structure and the crucial role of polar-core spin vortices in the coarsening dynamics.