We investigate the long-term dynamics of spin textures prepared by cooling unmagnetized spinor gases of
F=1 87Rb to quantum degeneracy, observing domain coarsening and a strong dependence of the equilibration dynamics on the quadratic Zeeman shift
q. For small values of
∣q∣, the textures arrive at a configuration independent of the initial spin-state composition, characterized by large length-scale spin domains and the establishment of easy-axis (negative
q) or easy-plane (positive
q) magnetic anisotropy. For larger
∣q∣, equilibration is delayed as the spin-state composition of the degenerate spinor gas remains close to its initial value. These observations support the mean-field equilibrium phase diagram predicted for a ferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate and also illustrate that equilibration is achieved under a narrow range of experimental settings, making the
F=1 87Rb gas more suitable for studies of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics.
Spinor Bose-Einstein condensates exhibit both superfluid and magnetic order, and accommodate phases with rich symmetry properties and topological defects. Transitions between these phases can be induced by tuning external fields. In this thesis we explore the dynamics of order formation in a quasi-2D spin-1 ferromagnetic condensate following a quench from an unmagnetised phase to one of three ferromagnetic phases. The ferromagnetic phases exhibit distinct symmetry properties (easy-plane, easy-axis or isotropic) and support distinct topological defects. In each phase we observe scale invariant ordering and identify the relevant topological defect affecting the order parameter growth. We find that each phase is characterised by a distinct dynamic critical exponent. In the easy-plane phase we identify a persistent turbulent cascade that affects spin ordering long after all topological defects have annihilated. In addition to our exploration of phase ordering dynamics, we study a microscopic model of spin vortex dynamics in the easy-plane phase. Our work provides a comprehensive theoretical study of phase ordering in a conservative system, provides a thorough foundation for studies of phase ordering in antiferromagnetic and higher spin condensates, and offers prospects for further research into fundamental questions regarding the ordering properties of spin systems. Our work is pertinent to current experiments, which have explored the initial stages of phase ordering in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin-1 condensates.
We compute the finite-temperature phase diagram of a pseudospin-1/2 Bose gas with contact interactions, using two complementary methods: the random-phase approximation and self-consistent Hartree-Fock theory. We show that the spin-dependent interactions, which break the (pseudo-) spin-rotational symmetry of the Hamiltonian, generally lead to the appearance of a magnetically ordered phase at temperatures above the superfluid transition. In three dimensions, we predict a normal easy-axis (easy-plane) ferromagnet for sufficiently strong repulsive (attractive) interspecies interactions, respectively. The normal easy-axis ferromagnet is the bosonic analog of Stoner ferromagnetism known in electronic systems. For the case of interspecies attraction, we also discuss the possibility of a bosonic analog of the Cooper-paired phase. This state is shown to significantly lose in energy to the transverse ferromagnet in three dimensions, but is more energetically competitive in lower dimensions. Extending our calculations to a spin-orbit-coupled Bose gas with equal Rashba and Dresselhaus-type couplings (as recently realized in experiment), we investigate the possibility of stripe ordering in the normal phase. Within our approximations, however, we do not find an instability towards stripe formation, suggesting that the stripe order melts below the condensation temperature, which is consistent with the experimental observations of Ji et al. [Ji et al., Nat. Phys. 10, 314 (2014)].