Excited spin states and phase separation in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We analyze the structure of spin-one Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of a homogeneous magnetic field. We classify the homogeneous stationary states and study their existence, bifurcations, and energy spectra. We reveal that phase separation can occur in the ground state of antiferromagnetic (polar) condensates while the spin components of the ferromagnetic condensates are always miscible and no phase separation occurs. Our theoretical model, confirmed by numerical simulations, explains that this phenomenon takes place when the energy of the lowest homogeneous state is a concave function of the magnetization. In particular, we predict that phase separation can be observed in a ²³Na condensate confined in a highly elongated harmonic trap. Finally, we discuss the phenomena of dynamical instability and spin domain formation.