Polarization-controlled pattern formation in antiparallel dipolar binary condensates

TL;DR

This paper explores how polarization angle, trap geometry, and population imbalance influence pattern formation in antiparallel dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing controllable transitions between stripe, labyrinth, and droplet phases.

Contribution

It demonstrates the controlled formation of diverse patterns in dipolar condensates through polarization and trap parameters, connecting these phenomena to nuclear pasta morphologies.

Findings

Polarization tilt induces stripe order and labyrinth textures.

Population imbalance leads to stable droplet arrays.

Trap aspect ratio affects pattern density and instability timescale.

Abstract

We investigate non-equilibrium pattern formation in an antiparallel two-component dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate by varying the polarization angle and the trap aspect ratio. At finite tilt, the condensate supports stripe order. Quenching the angle to zero triggers a roton-assisted, mushroom-like corrugation that destroys translational order and drives the system into labyrinthine textures, whereas a slow linear ramp produces long-lived curved stripes that ultimately converge to labyrinths. Population imbalance strongly biases the evolution: the minority component preferentially fragments into a stable droplet array while the majority remains comparatively diffuse; once formed, the droplet crystal is robust under polarization hysteresis with largely reversible shape changes and unchanged lattice topology. The trap aspect ratio controls both the initial stripe number and the instability timescale, with tighter axial confinement accelerating corrugation and yielding denser labyrinths at late times. All behaviors arise within a quasi-two-dimensional mean-field regime where beyond-mean-field corrections are negligible; accordingly, the droplets reported here are not self-bound in free space. The observed textures (such as stripes, curved stripes, and labyrinths) mirror the taxonomy and instability pathways of nuclear "pasta" morphologies (rods and slabs) known from neutron-star and supernova matter, highlighting polarization angle, trap geometry, and population imbalance as practical, experimentally accessible controls for selecting and steering patterns in dipolar mixtures.