Inhomogeneous Kibble-Zurek Mechanism in ⁸⁷Rb

Inhomogeneous Kibble-Zurek Mechanism (IKZM) extends the framework for understanding the non-equilibrium defect formation dynamics in a non-homogeneous system as it undergoes a continuous, second-order, thermal phase transition. Although the theory correctly predicts the qualitative power-law scaling of the defect number density with the thermal quench rate, recent studies in ⁸⁷Rb Bose gas show significant deviation from the predicted scaling exponent as well as the observation of defect density saturation at rapid quench rates that can be attributed to an early coarsening effect. The study presented here extends our investigations into the IKZM in ⁸⁷Rb Bose gas and examines the effect of the optical trapping potential geometry on certain key parameters such as the KZ power-law scaling exponent, the saturated defect number density, and the early coarsening effect. Our observations indicate a strong dependence of the KZ scaling exponent on the underlying trap geometry, with a trend currently unexplained by the IKZM theory, while the early coarsening effect is insensitive to the trap geometry. We present the relevant results and scope for future studies to better understand such non-equilibrium phase transition dynamics.