The BBC coverage quotes a Lindsay LeBlanc, of the University of Alberta, "a physicist not involved in the study":<p>"Although these results offer only an analogy to a magnetic monopole, their compatibility with theory reinforces the expectation that this particle will be detected experimentally."<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25946734" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25946734</a><p>The overall phrasing seems to say that it's still just an analogue of a monopole, but that it's a far more useful analogue in a system that you could do meaningful experiments upon.
Can anyone with a background in physics and/or interpreting <i>Nature</i> publications comment on this? It appears to be a peer-reviewed publication, rather than something merely published.<p>My understanding of Dirac's monopole hypothesis implies that these results would be very significant for particle theory . . .
There's an additional article in Nature that describes the research:<p><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-cloud-simulates-magnetic-monopole-1.14612" rel="nofollow">http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-cloud-simulates-magnetic-...</a><p>No it's not a monopole, Div B is still zero everywhere. Yes it is interesting. :)