Speaker
Description
The Kibble–Zurek mechanism (KZM) combines Kibble’s observation of topological defects formation in cosmological phase transitions with Zurek’s theory relating their density to critical slowing down, and hence to the universality class of a second-order phase transition. The resulting KZM predicts defect density as a function of the quench rate in second-order phase transitions, in both classical and quantum settings. It has applications across a wide range of fields, including condensed matter physics, cosmology, and quantum computing.
In this talk, I will discuss extensions of the Kibble–Zurek mechanism beyond its original formulation. I will explain how KZM can be combined with nucleation theory in weakly first-order phase transitions, how formulas for nonadiabatic excitations can be modified in exotic quantum phase transitions, and applications of machine learning that provide deeper insight into second-order phase transitions beyond the conventional KZM framework.