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arXiv:cond-mat/0610862 · Physical Review A

Topological defect formation in a quenched ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensates

Hiroki Saito, Yuki Kawaguchi, Masahito Ueda

Published Jan 23, 2007• 85 citations
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Abstract

We study the dynamics of the quantum phase transition of a ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) from the polar phase to the broken-axisymmetry phase by changing magnetic field, and find the spontaneous formation of spinor domain walls followed by the creation of polar-core spin vortices. We also find that the spin textures depend very sensitively on the initial noise distribution, and that an anisotropic and colored initial noise is needed to reproduce the Berkeley experiment [Sadler et al., Nature (London) 443, 312 (2006)]. The dynamics of vortex nucleation and the number of created vortices depend also on the manner in which the magnetic field is changed. We point out an analogy between the formation of spin vortices from domain walls in a spinor BEC and that of vortex-antivortex pairs from dark solitons in a scalar BEC.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.75.013621

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We study the dynamics of the quantum phase transition of a ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) from the polar phase to the broken-axisymmetry phase by changing magnetic field, and find the spontaneous formation of spinor domain walls followed by the creation of polar-core spin vortices. We also find that the spin textures depend very sensitively on the initial noise distribution, and that an anisotropic and colored initial noise is needed to reproduce the Berkeley experiment [Sadler et al., Nature (London) 443, 312 (2006)]. The dynamics of vortex nucleation and the number of created vortices depend also on the manner in which the magnetic field is changed. We point out an analogy between the formation of spin vortices from domain walls in a spinor BEC and that of vortex-antivortex pairs from dark solitons in a scalar BEC.
Motivated by a recent experiment, we study nonequilibrium quantum phenomena taking place in the quench of a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate through the zero-temperature phase transition separating the polar paramagnetic and planar ferromagnetic phases. We derive the typical spin domain structure (correlations of the effective magnetization) created by the quench arising due to spin-mode quantum fluctuations, and we establish a sample-size scaling law for the creation of spin vortices, which are topological defects in the transverse magnetization.
We report the observation of spin domain walls bounded by half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate with antiferromagnetic interactions. A spinor condensate is initially prepared in the easy-plane polar phase, and then, suddenly quenched into the easy-axis polar phase. Domain walls are created via the spontaneous Z_{2} symmetry breaking in the phase transition and the walls dynamically split into composite defects due to snake instability. The end points of the defects are identified as HQVs for the polar order parameter and the mass supercurrent in their proximity is demonstrated using Bragg scattering. In a strong quench regime, we observe that singly charged quantum vortices are formed with the relaxation of free wall-vortex composite defects. Our results demonstrate a nucleation mechanism for composite defects via phase transition dynamics.
A central goal in condensed matter and modern atomic physics is the exploration of manybody quantum phases and the universal characteristics of quantum phase transitions in so far as they differ from those established for thermal phase transitions. Compared with condensedmatter systems, atomic gases are more precisely constructed and also provide the unique opportunity to explore quantum dynamics far from equilibrium. Here we identify a second-order quantum phase transition in a gaseous spinor BoseEinstein condensate, a quantum fluid in which superfluidity and magnetism, both associated with symmetry breaking, are simultaneously realized. Rb spinor condensates were rapidly quenched across this transition to a ferromagnetic state and probed using in-situ magnetization imaging to observe spontaneous symmetry breaking through the formation of spin textures, ferromagnetic domains and domain walls. The observation of topological defects produced by this symmetry breaking, identified as polar-core spin-vortices containing non-zero spin current but no net mass current, represents the first phase-sensitive in-situ detection of vortices in a gaseous superfluid.
We consider coherent states of weakly interacting bosons under the conditions of external resonant excitation, with a focus on a two-dimensional polariton fluid driven by a plane electromagnetic wave near the ground state. The coherent driving breaks the U(1) symmetry explicitly, which prevents the occurrence of quantum vortices in a uniform scalar condensate. Surprisingly, a spinor (two-component) system of the same kind admits topological excitations, such as domain walls of relative phase or confined half-vortex molecules, typical of a freely evolving spinor Bose system. Opposite-phase domains arise from the spontaneous breakdown of the spin symmetry (Z2)(\mathbb{Z}_2)(Z2​). Domain walls form with time even when the initial state of the system is uniform or completely disordered; they fall into different topological types distinguished by the total phase variation in the transverse direction. One type of domain walls is similar to ``magnetic'' solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates and exhibits nonzero spin polarization whose sign depends on the direction of motion. Domain walls of the second type, by contrast, behave like monopoles with broken spatiotemporal symmetry and tend to move in certain preferred directions. The interaction of vortices and domain walls results in a long-range ordering of the system.
We provide a detailed description of our previously proposed scheme for topological interface engineering with constructed defects and textures perforating across coherent interfaces between different broken symmetries [Borgh and Ruostekoski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 015302 (2012)]. We consider a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate, in which polar and ferromagnetic phases are prepared in spatially separated regions. We show that a stable coherent interface is established between the two phases, allowing defects of different topology to connect continuously across the boundary. We provide analytic constructions of interface-crossing defect solutions that could be experimentally phase imprinted using existing technology. By numerically minimizing the energy, we calculate the core structures of interface-crossing defect configurations. We demonstrate nontrivial core deformations to considerably more complex structures, such as the formation of an arch-shaped half-quantum line defect, an Alice arch, at the interface, with the topological charge of a point defect, whose emergence may be understood by the ``hairy ball'' theorem. Another example of an energetically stable object is the connection of a coreless vortex to a pair of half-quantum vortices. We show that rotation leads to spontaneous nucleation of defects in which a coreless vortex continuously transforms to a half-quantum vortex across the interface.
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.