Imprinting a topological interface using Zeeman shifts in an atomic spinor Bose–Einstein condensate

Abstract

We propose to use spatial control of the Zeeman energy shifts in an ultracold atomic gas to engineer an interface between topologically distinct regions. This provides an experimentally accessible means for studying the interface physics of topological defects and textures. Using the spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensate as an example, we find spinor wave functions that represent defects and textures continuously connecting across the interface between polar and ferromagnetic regions induced by spatially varying Zeeman shifts. By numerical energy-minimization we characterize the defect core structures and determine the energetic stability. The techniques proposed could potentially be used in the laboratory to emulate complex interface physics arising, e.g., in cosmological and condensed-matter contexts in both uniform and lattice systems.

Keywords

• atomic spinor Bose–Einstein condensates
• topological defects and textures
• topological interface