Topological Defects in Ferromagnetic, Antiferromagnetic and Cyclic Spinor Condensates – A Homotopy Theory

We apply the homotopy group theory in classifying the topological defects in atomic spin-1 and spin-2 Bose-Einstein condensates. The nature of the defects depends crucially on the spin-spin interaction between the atoms. We find the topologically stable defects both for spin-1 ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic states, and for spin-2 ferromagnetic and cyclic states. With this rigorous approach we clarify the previously controversial identification of symmetry groups and order parameter spaces for the spin-1 anti-ferromagnetic state, and show that the spin-2 cyclic case provides a rare example of a physical system with non-Abelian line defects, like those observed in biaxial nematics. We also show the possibility to produce vortices with fractional winding numbers of 1/2, 1/3 and their multiples in spinor condensates. To appear in Progress in Ferromagnetic Research Frank Columbus, editor (Nova Science Publishers, New York, 2004)