Composite defect extends analogy between cosmology and He-3

Spin-mass Vortices have been observed to form in rotating superfluid He-3-B , following the absorption of a thermal neutron and a rapid transition from the normal to the superfluid state. The spin-mass vortex is a composite de fect which consists of a planar soliton (wall) which terminates on a linear core (string). This observation fits well within the framework of a cosmol ogical scenario for defect formation, known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. It suggests that in the early Universe analogous cosmological defects might have formed.