Creation and Detection of Skyrmions in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Journal Article · Fri Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.103.250401· OSTI ID:21370905

Leslie, L S; Deutsch, B M ^[1]; Hansen, A; Wright, K C ^[2]; Bigelow, N P ^[2]

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1. Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States)
2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States)

We present the first experimental realization and characterization of two-dimensional Skyrmions and half-Skyrmions in a spin-2 Bose-Einstein condensate. The continuous rotation of the local spin of the Skyrmion through an angle of pi (and half-Skyrmion through an angle of pi/2) across the cloud is confirmed by the spatial distribution of the three spin states as parametrized by the bending angle of the l vector. The winding number w=(0,1,2) of the internal spin states comprising the Skyrmions is confirmed through matter-wave interference.

• OSTI ID: 21370905
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 25; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.250401; (c) 2009 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
INTERFERENCE
ROTATION
SKYRME POTENTIAL
SOLITONS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPIN
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VECTORS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
DISTRIBUTION
MOTION
NUCLEON-NUCLEON POTENTIAL
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
POTENTIALS
QUASI PARTICLES
TENSORS