LAUSR

The Kibble–Zurek (Kibble in J Phys A 9:1387–1398, 1976; Zurek in Nature 317:505–508, 1985) scenario predicts that the outcome of a second-order phase transition from a disordered system into an ordered one depends on the quench rate. The emerging order parameter in the ordered state is not spatially uniform, containing topological defects. The faster the transition, the larger the density of defects. In the case of a conductor–superconductor transition, these defects are flux quanta (vortices). To investigate this scenario, we developed a high-resolution magneto-optical imaging system capable of resolving single flux quanta. Using this system, we imaged arrays of spontaneously created vortices in a Nb film. These vortices were formed after the film was rapidly cooled into the superconducting state at rates around 109 K/s. The internal correlations within the vortex array are important in order to differentiate between competing models. In the Kibble–Zurek scenario, neighboring vortices should have a different polarity, while in Hindmarsh–Rajantie (Hindmarsh and Rajantie in Phys Rev Lett 85:4660–4663, 2000) model the polarity should be the same. Our results favor the Kibble–Zurek scenario.