arXiv:cond-mat/0309511 · Physical Review A
Spin textures in slowly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates
Erich J. Mueller
Abstract
Slowly rotating spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates are studied through a variational approach based upon lowest Landau level calculus. The author finds that in a gas with ferromagnetic interactions, such as $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$, angular momentum is predominantly carried by clusters of two different types of skyrmion textures in the spin-vector order parameter. Conversely, in a gas with antiferromagnetic interactions, such as $^{23}\mathrm{Na}$, angular momentum is carried by $\ensuremath{\pi}$ disclinations in the nematic order parameter which arises from spin fluctuations. For experimentally relevant parameters, the cores of these $\ensuremath{\pi}$ disclinations are ferromagnetic, and can be imaged with polarized light.