Topologically Protected Vortex Knots in an Experimentally Realizable System

Abstract

Ordered media often support vortex structures with intriguing topological properties. Here, we investigate non-Abelian vortices in tetrahedral order, which appear in the cyclic phase of spin-2 Bose--Einstein condensates and in the tetrahedratic phase of bent-core nematic liquid crystals. Using these vortices, we construct topologically protected knots in the sense that they cannot decay into unlinked simple loop defects through vortex crossings and reconnections without destroying the phase. The discovered structures are the first examples of knots bearing such topological protection in a known experimentally realizable system.