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Dynamics of Polar-Core Spin Vortices in Inhomogeneous Spin-1 Bose-Einstein Condensates
by Zachary L. Stevens-Hough, Matthew J. Davis, Lewis A. Williamson
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Lewis Williamson |
| Submission information | |
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| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.13800v1 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | 2024-04-23 05:49 |
| Submitted by: | Williamson, Lewis |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
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| Academic field: | Physics |
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| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
In the easy-plane phase, a ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate is magnetized in a plane transverse to the applied Zeeman field. This phase supports polar-core spin vortices (PCVs), which consist of phase windings of transverse magnetization. Here we show that spin-changing collisions cause a PCV to accelerate down density gradients in an inhomogeneous condensate. The dynamics is well-described by a simplified model adapted from scalar systems, which predicts the dependence of the dynamics on trap tightness and quadratic Zeeman energy. In a harmonic trap, a PCV accelerates radially to the condensate boundary, in stark contrast to the azimuthal motion of vortices in a scalar condensate. In a trap that has a local potential maximum at the centre, the PCV exhibits oscillations around the trap centre, which persist for a remarkably long time. The oscillations coincide with the emission and reabsorption of axial spin waves, which reflect off the condensate boundary.
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