Figure 4: Comparison of experimental data to simulations.
From: Topological defect formation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in ion Coulomb crystals
(a) Numerical simulation of kink losses. Filled symbols show the number of kinks created during a radial quench. Open symbols are kinks remaining at the time of detection, where the lines are drawn to guide the eye. The symbols correspond to η=1.5 × 10−20 kg s−1 (circles), 6.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (pentagons), 4.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (inverted triangles) and 3.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (triangles). The filled circles show the same data as Fig. 2. (b) Experimentally measured kink density (filled symbols) compared with simulated density of kinks remaining at the time of detection for η=6.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (pentagons), 4.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (inverted triangles), 3.0 × 10−21 kg s−1 (triangles) and 2.5 × 10−21 kg s−1 (squares). The shaded region indicates the quench times for which kinks are stable and detectable in our experiment, and the blue line is the fit to the data points in this region. The vertical error bars include the s.e.m. of measurements repeated up to 4,400 times per data point over several months, as well as the statistical uncertainty assuming a binomial distribution. Horizontal error bars are because of the uncertainty in the axial-trapping frequency and a non-linear distortion of the applied ramp.
