Rapidly Quenched Kosterlitz-Thouless Superfluid Transitions

Han-Ching Chu, Gary A. Williams

Published 2000-10-28, updated 2001-02-06Version 4

Rapidly quenched Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) superfluid transitions are studied by solving the Fokker-Planck equation for the vortex-pair dynamics in conjunction with the KT recursion relations. Power-law decays of the vortex density at long times are found, and the results are in agreement with a scaling proposal made by Minnhagen and co-workers for the dynamical critical exponent. The superfluid density is strongly depressed after a quench, with the subsequent recovery being logarithmically slow for starting temperatures near T$_{KT}$. No evidence is found of vortices being ''created'' in a rapid quench, there is only decay of the existing thermal vortex pairs.