We have solved numerically the ground states of a Bose-Einstein condensate in
the presence of dipolar interparticle forces using a semiclassical approach.
Our motivation is to model, in particular, the spontaneous spin textures
emerging in quantum gases with large dipole moments, such as 52Cr or Dy
condensates, or ultracold gases consisting of polar molecules. For a
pancake-shaped harmonic (optical) potential, we present the ground state phase
diagram spanned by the strength of the nonlinear coupling and dipolar
interactions. In an elongated harmonic potential, we observe a novel helical
spin texture. The textures calculated according to the semiclassical model in
the absence of external polarizing fields are predominantly analogous to
previously reported results for a ferromagnetic F = 1 spinor Bose-Einstein
condensate, suggesting that the spin textures arising from the dipolar forces
are largely independent of the value of the quantum number F or the origin of
the dipolar interactions.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
