Stable fractional vortices in the cyclic states of Bose-Einstein condensates

Abstract

We propose methods to create fractional vortices in the cyclic state of an $F=2$ spinor Bose-Einstein condensate by manipulating its internal spin structure using pulsed microwave and laser fields. The stability of such vortices is studied as a function of the rotation frequency of the confining harmonic trap both in pancake- and cigar-shaped condensates. We find a range of parameters for which the so-called $\frac{1}{3}$ vortex state is energetically favorable. Such fractional vortices could be created in condensates of $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ atoms using current experimental techniques facilitating probing of topological defects with non-Abelian statistics.