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

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 1 3 vortex state is energetically favorable. Such fractional vortices could be created in condensates of R 87 b atoms using current experimental techniques facilitating probing of topological defects with non-Abelian statistics