2005/09/21 by Wenxian Zhang, D. L. Zhou, M.-S. Chang +5 · 4 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Antiferromagnetism #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Condensed matter physics #Domain (mathematical analysis) #Ferromagnetism #Homogeneous #Instability #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Spin (aerodynamics) #Statistical physics #Thermodynamics #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.95.180403
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 180403 (2005) · RevTex4, 4 pages with 3 color eps figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett
arxiv created 2005/09/21 · openalex publication_date 2005/10/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We interpret the recently observed spatial domain formation in spin-1 atomic condensates as a result of dynamical instability. Within the mean field theory, a homogeneous condensate is dynamically unstable (stable) for ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) atomic interactions. We find that this dynamical instability naturally leads to spontaneous domain formation as observed in several recent experiments for condensates with rather small numbers of atoms. For trapped condensates, our numerical simulations compare quantitatively to the experimental results, thus largely confirming the physical insight from our analysis of the homogeneous case.