Axisymmetric versus Non-axisymmetric Vortices in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

TL;DR

This paper investigates the structure and stability of axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric vortices in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing stability conditions and phase diagrams across different interaction regimes.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of vortex stability and topological defects in spinor BECs, including the stability of Mermin-Ho vortices and phase diagrams for various parameters.

Findings

Mermin-Ho vortex is stable in ferromagnetic BECs.

Distinct phase diagrams for axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric vortices.

Qualitative differences in vortex behavior depending on rotation and magnetization.

Abstract

The structure and stability of various vortices in F=1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensates are investigated by solving the extended Gross-Pitaevskii equation under rotation. We perform an extensive search for stable vortices, considering both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric vortices and covering a wide range of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. The topological defect called Mermin-Ho (Anderson-Toulouse) vortex is shown to be stable for ferromagnetic case. The phase diagram is established in a plane of external rotation Omega vs total magnetization M by comparing the free energies of possible vortices. It is shown that there are qualitative differences between axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric vortices which are manifested in the Omega- and M-dependences.