Type: Article
Publication Date: 2000-06-09
Citations: 80
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.62.013602
We propose a scheme for the creation of skyrmions (coreless vortices) in a Bose-Einstein condensate with hyperfine spin $F=1.$ In this scheme, four traveling-wave laser beams, with Gaussian or Laguerre-Gaussian transverse profiles, induce Raman transitions with an anomalous dependence on the laser polarization, thereby generating the optical potential required for producing skyrmions.