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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 103 » Issue 3
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 030401 (2009) [4 pages]

Creation of Dirac Monopoles in Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

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Ville Pietilä1,2 and Mikko Möttönen1,2,3
1Department of Applied Physics/COMP, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 5100, FI-02015 TKK, Finland
2Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computer Technology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
3Low Temperature Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 3500, FI-02015 TKK, Finland

Received 18 March 2009; published 13 July 2009

See accompanying Physics Synopsis

We demonstrate theoretically that, by using external magnetic fields, one can imprint pointlike topological defects on the spin texture of a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate. The symmetries of the condensate order parameter render this topological defect to be accompanied with a vortex filament corresponding to the Dirac string of a magnetic monopole. The vorticity in the condensate coincides with the magnetic field of a magnetic monopole, providing an ideal analogue to the monopole studied by Dirac.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.030401
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.030401
PACS:
03.75.Lm, 03.75.Mn
 
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