title: Half-quantum vortex molecules in a binary dipolar Bose gas.
abstract: We study the ground state phases of a rotating two-component, or binary, Bose-Einstein condensate, wherein one component possesses a large permanent magnetic dipole moment. A variety of nontrivial phases emerge in this system, including a half-quantum vortex (HQV) chain phase and a HQV molecule phase, where HQVs bind at short distances. We attribute these phases to the development of a minimum in the HQV interaction potential, which emerges without coherent coupling or attractive interactions between the components. Thus, we show that the presence of dipolar interactions in this system provides a unique mechanism for the formation of HQV molecules and results in a rich ground state phase diagram.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA and Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Wilbur E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Shirley
authors.affiliation: Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wilson