Abstract
Symmetries of the physical world have guided formulation of fundamental laws, including relativistic quantum field theory and understanding of possible states of matter. Topological defects (TDs) often control the universal behavior of macroscopic quantum systems, while topology and broken symmetries determine allowed TDs. Taking advantage of the symmetry-breaking patterns in the phase diagram of nanoconfined superfluid 3He, we show that half-quantum vortices (HQVs)—linear topological defects carrying half quantum of circulation—survive transitions from the polar phase to other superfluid phases with polar distortion. In the polar-distorted A phase, HQV cores in 2D systems should harbor non-Abelian Majorana modes. In the polar-distorted B phase, HQVs form composite defects—walls bounded by strings hypothesized decades ago in cosmology. Our experiments establish the superfluid phases of 3He in nanostructured confinement as a promising topological media for further investigations ranging from topological quantum computing to cosmology and grand unification scenarios.
Highlights
Symmetries of the physical world have guided formulation of fundamental laws, including relativistic quantum field theory and understanding of possible states of matter
We explore experimentally the composite defects formed by both the hierarchy of energy scales and the hierarchy of symmetry-breaking phase transitions allowed by the phase diagram of superfluid 3He confined in nematically ordered aerogel-like material called nafen
The observed features of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum in the polar-distorted B (PdB) phase suggest that a KLS wall emerges between a pair of halfquantum vortices (HQVs) already connected by the spin soliton
Summary
Symmetries of the physical world have guided formulation of fundamental laws, including relativistic quantum field theory and understanding of possible states of matter. The observed features of the NMR spectrum in the PdB phase suggest that a KLS wall emerges between a pair of HQVs already connected by the spin soliton.
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