Spontaneously modulated spin textures in a dipolar spinor bose-einstein condensate.
Helical spin textures in a 87Rb F=1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensate are found to decay spontaneously toward a spatially modulated structure of spin domains. The formation of this modulated phase is ascribed to magnetic dipolar interactions that energetically favor the short-wavelength domains over the long-wavelength spin helix. The reduction of dipolar interactions by a sequence of rf pulses results in a suppression of the modulated phase, thereby confirming the role of dipolar interactions in this process. This study demonstrates the significance of magnetic dipole interactions in degenerate 87Rb F=1 spinor gases.
Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
M
M
Vengalattore
S R
SR
Leslie
J
J
Guzman
D M
DM
Stamper-Kurn