Spin domains in ground state spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This paper investigates the formation and structure of spin domains in ground state spinor Bose-Einstein condensates confined in optical traps, revealing complex domain patterns and coexistence of miscible and immiscible spin components.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed study of equilibrium spin domain structures in spinor BECs confined by optical traps, highlighting the role of spin freedom.

Findings

Observation of spin domain formation in optical traps

Demonstration of both miscible and immiscible spin component coexistence

Illustration of spin domain structures in external magnetic fields

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensates of dilute atomic gases, characterized by a macroscopic population of the quantum mechanical ground state, are a new, weakly interacting quantum fluid. In most experiments condensates in a single weak field seeking state are magnetically trapped. These condensates can be described by a scalar order parameter similar to the spinless superfluid 4He. Even though alkali atoms have angular momentum, the spin orientation is not a degree of freedom because spin flips lead to untrapped states and are therefore a loss process. In contrast, the recently realized optical trap for sodium condensates confines atoms independently of their spin orientation. This opens the possibility to study spinor condensates which represent a system with a vector order parameter instead of a scalar. Here we report a study of the equilibrium state of spinor condensates in an optical trap. The freedom of spin orientation leads to the formation of spin domains in an external magnetic field. The structure of these domains are illustrated in spin domain diagrams. Combinations of both miscible and immiscible spin components were realized.