O(N) symmetry-breaking quantum quench: Topological defects versus quasiparticles

We present an analytical derivation of the winding number counting topological defects created by an O(N) symmetry-breaking quantum quench in N spatial dimensions. Our approach is universal in the sense that we do not employ any approximations apart from the large-N limit. The final result is nonperturbative in N, i.e., it cannot be obtained by an expansion in 1/N, and we obtain far less topological defects than quasiparticle excitations, in sharp distinction to previous, low-dimensional investigations.