Phase diagram of vortices in the polar phase of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates

The phase diagram of lowest-energy vortices in the polar phase of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates is investigated theoretically. Singly quantized vortices are categorized by the local ordered state in the vortex core and three types of vortices are found as lowest-energy vortices, which are elliptic AF-core vortices, axisymmetric F-core vortices, and N-core vortices. These vortices are named after the local ordered state, ferromagnetic (F), antiferromagnetic (AF), broken-axisymmetry (BA), and normal (N) states apart from the bulk polar (P) state. The N-core vortex is a conventional vortex, in the core of which the superfluid order parameter vanishes. The other two types of vortices are stabilized when the quadratic Zeeman energy is smaller than a critical value. The axisymmetric F-core vortex is the lowest-energy vortex for ferromagnetic interaction, and it has an F core surrounded by a BA skin that forms a ferromagnetic-spin texture, as exemplified by the localized Mermin-Ho texture. The elliptic AF-core vortex is stabilized for antiferromagnetic interaction; the vortex core has both nematic-spin and ferromagnetic orders locally and is composed of the AF-core soliton spanned between two BA edges. The phase transition from the N-core vortex to the other two vortices is continuous, whereas that between the AF-core and F-core vortices is discontinuous. The critical point of the continuous vortex-core transition is computed by the perturbation analysis of the Bogoliubov theory and the Ginzburg-Landau formalism describes the critical behavior. The influence of trapping potential on the core structure is also investigated.

Automated summary

The theoretical investigation of the phase diagram of lowest-energy vortices in the polar phase of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates reveals three types of vortices: elliptic AF-core vortices, axisymmetric F-core vortices, and N-core vortices. These vortices are named based on the local ordered state and have different stability conditions under various interactions. The phase transition between different types of vortices is studied, with continuous transitions observed between N-core vortex and the other two vortices, and a discontinuous transition between AF-core and F-core vortices.