The Ginzburg temperature has historically been proposed as the energy scale of formation of topological defects at a second order symmetry breaking phase transition. More recently alternative proposals which compute the time of formation of defects from the critical dynamics of the system have been gaining both theoretical and experimental support. We investigate, using a canonical model for string formation, how these two pictures compare. In particular we show that prolonged exposure of a critical field configuration to the Ginzburg regime results in no substantial suppression of the final density of defects formed. These results eliminate the Ginzburg regime as a possible cause of erasure of vortex lines in the recent ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ pressure quench experiments.

• Received 24 January 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.62.065005