Magnetic soliton: from two to three components with SO(3) symmetry

TL;DR

This paper reveals that magnetic solitons in spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates form an SO(3) family, demonstrating new domain wall solitons and complex collision behaviors involving spin rotation and dissipation.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of an SO(3) soliton family in three-component spin-1 BECs and experimentally creates a new domain wall magnetic soliton with unique properties.

Findings

Experimental creation of a new domain wall magnetic soliton

Numerical analysis of soliton collisions showing rotation and dissipation

Identification of SO(3) symmetry in magnetic solitons

Abstract

Recent theoretical and experimental research has explored magnetic solitons in binary Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). Here we demonstrate that such solitons are part of an SO(3) soliton family when embedded within a full three-component spin-1 manifold with spin-rotational symmetry. To showcase this, we have experimentally created a new type of domain wall magnetic soliton (DWMS) obtained by 90 degree rotations, which consist of a boundary between easy-axis and easy-plane polar phases. Collisions between SO(3) solitons are investigated by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equations, which exhibit novel properties including rotation and dissipation of soliton spin polarization.