Physics – Condensed Matter
Scientific paper
2002-11-06
Physics
Condensed Matter
Lectures at NATO ASI "Patterns of symmetry breaking", Cracow, Sept. 2002, 35 pp
Scientific paper
Symmetry-breaking phase transitions are ubiquitous in condensed matter systems and in quantum field theories. There is also good reason to believe that they feature in the very early history of the Universe. At many such transitions topological defects of one kind or another are formed. Because of their inherent stability, they can have important effects on the subsequent behaviour of the system. In the first of these lectures I shall review a number of examples of spontaneous symmetry breaking, many of which will be discussed in more detail by other lecturers, and discuss their general features. The second lecture will be mainly devoted to the conditions under which topological defects can appear and their classification in terms of homotopy groups of the underlying vacuum manifold. In my final lecture, I will discuss the `cosmology in the laboratory' experiments which have been done to try to test some of the ideas thrown up by discussions of defect formation in the early Universe by looking at analogous processes in condensed-matter systems.
No associations
LandOfFree
Symmetry breaking and defects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Symmetry breaking and defects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Symmetry breaking and defects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-448150