Observation of an Alice ring in a Bose–Einstein condensate

Alina Blinova (), Roberto Zamora-Zamora, Tuomas Ollikainen, Markus Kivioja, Mikko Möttönen and David S. Hall
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Alina Blinova: Amherst College
Roberto Zamora-Zamora: Aalto University
Tuomas Ollikainen: Amherst College
Markus Kivioja: University of Jyväskylä
Mikko Möttönen: Aalto University
David S. Hall: Amherst College

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Monopoles and vortices are fundamental topological excitations that appear in physical systems spanning enormous scales of size and energy, from the vastness of the early universe to tiny laboratory droplets of nematic liquid crystals and ultracold gases. Although the topologies of vortices and monopoles are distinct from one another, under certain circumstances a monopole can spontaneously and continuously deform into a vortex ring with the curious property that monopoles passing through it are converted into anti-monopoles. However, the observation of such Alice rings has remained a major challenge, due to the scarcity of experimentally accessible monopoles in continuous fields. Here, we present experimental evidence of an Alice ring resulting from the decay of a topological monopole defect in a dilute gaseous 87Rb Bose–Einstein condensate. Our results, in agreement with detailed first-principles simulations, provide an unprecedented opportunity to explore the unique features of a composite excitation that combines the topological features of both a monopole and a vortex ring.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-40710-2

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40710-2

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