Stable Hopf solitons in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

We reveal that Hopf solitons can be stabilized in rotating atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. The Hopfion is a matter-wave vortex complex which carries two independent winding numbers. Such a topological solitonic structure results from a superfluid flow of atoms simultaneously quantized in poloidal and toroidal directions. In the framework of a dissipative mean-field model we observe different unstable evolution scenarios of the Hopfions. We demonstrate energetic and dynamical stability of the Hopf solitons under experimentally feasible conditions.