Dynamics and complex structure of two-dimensional skyrmions in antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates

Motivated by the recent experiment of Choi et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 035301 ( 2012)], we simulate, within the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, the process of creating a skyrmion in an antiferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate via the magnetic-field rotation method. Complex skymion structures are found and the factors influencing them are discussed. The dynamics of the system is mainly quasiperiodic. When the center of the skyrmion is displaced from the trap center, half vortices can be found at an intermediate stage of the dynamical evolution, but they do not necessarily lead to the destruction of the skyrmions.