# Dynamic hysteresis from bistability in an antiferromagnetic spinor condensate

## TL;DR

This paper investigates hysteresis phenomena during quantum phase transitions in a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate, revealing rate-dependent behavior and scaling laws explained by Kibble-Zurek theory, with considerations of external trapping effects.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of hysteresis loops in a spinor condensate during phase transitions and explains their behavior using Kibble-Zurek theory, including effects of trap potentials.

## Key findings

- Hysteresis loops appear during quantum phase transitions in the condensate.
- Hysteresis behavior is rate-independent at large magnetizations.
- Scaling of hysteresis loop area is observed at small magnetizations.

## Abstract

We study the emergence of hysteresis during the process of quantum phase transition from an antiferromagnetic to a phase-separated state in a spin-1 Bose Einstein condensate of ultracold atoms. We explicitly demonstrate the appearance of a hysteresis loop with various quench times showing that it is rate-independent for large magnetizations only. In other cases scaling of the hysteresis loop area is observed, which we explain by using the Kibble-Zurek theory in the limit of small magnetization. The effect of an external harmonic trapping potential is also discussed.