Dynamics of polar-core spin vortices in a ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

A ferromagnetic spin-1 condensate supports polar-core spin vortices (PCVs) in the easy-plane phase. We derive a model for the dynamics of these PCVs using a variational Lagrangian approach. The PCVs behave as massive charged particles interacting under the two dimensional Coulomb interaction, with the mass arising from interaction effects within the vortex core. We compare this model to numerical simulations of the spin-1 Gross-Pitaevskii equations and find semi-quantitative agreement. In addition, the numerical results suggest that the PCV core couples to spin waves, and this affects the PCV dynamics even far from the core. We identify areas of further research that could extend the model of PCV dynamics presented here.