  We show theoretically that a monopole defect, analogous to the Dirac magnetic
monopole, may exist as the ground state of a dilute spin-1 Bose-Einstein
condensate. The ground-state monopole is not attached to a single semi-infinite
Dirac string, but forms a point where the circulation of a single vortex line
is reversed. Furthermore, the three-dimensional dynamics of this monopole
defect are studied after the magnetic field pinning the monopole is removed and
the emergence of antimonopoles is observed. Our scheme is experimentally
realizable with the present-day state of the art.
