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arXiv:1106.0820 · Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Optical flux lattices for two-photon dressed states

Nigel R. Cooper, Jean Dalibard

Published Sep 1, 2011• 54 citations
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Abstract

We describe a simple scheme by which "optical flux lattices" can be implemented in ultracold atomic gases using two-photon dressed states. This scheme can be applied, for example, to the ground-state hyperfine levels of commonly used atomic species. The resulting flux lattices simulate a magnetic field with high mean flux density, and have low-energy bands analogous to the lowest Landau level. We show that in practical cases the atomic motion significantly deviates from the adiabatic following of one dressed state, and that this can lead to significant interactions even for fermions occupying a single band. Our scheme allows experiments on cold atomic gases to explore strong correlation phenomena related to the fractional quantum Hall effect, both for fermions and bosons.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/95/66004

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We describe a simple scheme by which "optical flux lattices" can be implemented in ultracold atomic gases using two-photon dressed states. This scheme can be applied, for example, to the ground-state hyperfine levels of commonly used atomic species. The resulting flux lattices simulate a magnetic field with high mean flux density, and have low-energy bands analogous to the lowest Landau level. We show that in practical cases the atomic motion significantly deviates from the adiabatic following of one dressed state, and that this can lead to significant interactions even for fermions occupying a single band. Our scheme allows experiments on cold atomic gases to explore strong correlation phenomena related to the fractional quantum Hall effect, both for fermions and bosons.
We present a robust scheme by which fractional quantum Hall states of bosons can be achieved for ultracold atomic gases.We describe a new form of optical flux lattice, suitable for commonly used atomic species with ground state angular momentum J g ¼ 1, for which the lowest energy band is topological and nearly dispersionless.Through exact diagonalization studies, we show that, even for moderate interactions, the many-body ground states consist of bosonic fractional quantum Hall states, including the Laughlin state and the Moore-Read (Pfaffian) state.These phases are shown to have energy gaps that are larger than temperature scales achievable in ultracold gases.
We present a robust scheme by which fractional quantum Hall states of bosons can be achieved for ultracold atomic gases. We describe a new form of optical flux lattice, suitable for commonly used atomic species with ground state angular momentum J(g) = 1, for which the lowest energy band is topological and nearly dispersionless. Through exact diagonalization studies, we show that, even for moderate interactions, the many-body ground states consist of bosonic fractional quantum Hall states, including the Laughlin state and the Moore-Read (Pfaffian) state. These phases are shown to have energy gaps that are larger than temperature scales achievable in ultracold gases.
We study a model of a two-dimensional ultracold atomic gas subjected to an ``optical flux lattice'': a laser configuration where Raman-dressed atoms experience a strong artificial magnetic field. This leads to a band structure of narrow energy bands with nonzero Chern numbers. We consider the case of two-level (spin-1/21/21/2) fermionic atoms in this lattice, interacting via a repulsive sss-wave contact interaction. Atoms restricted to the lowest band are described by an effective model of spinless fermions with interactions that couple states in a momentum-dependent manner across the Brillouin zone; a consequence of the Raman dressing of the two spin states. We present the results of detailed exact diagonalization studies of the many-body states for a range of filling factors, $\ensuremath{\nu}$. First, we present evidence for the existence of a phase with coupled ferromagnetic-nematic ordering, which was previously suggested by a mean-field analysis. Second, we present evidence indicating the presence of a Laughlin-like fractional quantum Hall state occurring at filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/3$. Finally, we observe a charge-density wave state at $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/2$, which we are able to cleanly distinguish from the Laughlin-like state by its translational symmetry breaking and relatively low participation ratio.
The realization of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states in cold atomic gases is a long-standing goal in quantum simulation. Established approaches, including rapidly rotating gases and tight-binding lattices, are often hampered by low interaction energies and small many-body energy gaps. While optical flux lattices (OFLs) can achieve higher effective magnetic flux densities, standard two-state configurations generate highly non-uniform fields, and extensions to multi-state systems introduce significant experimental complexity. Here, we present a new paradigm for engineering robust FQH phases in OFLs using only two internal atomic states. We show that the introduction of an additional scalar potential provides a generic mechanism for creating Chern bands that are simultaneously essentially flat and ideal.'' These desirable properties arise by tuning lattice parameters to certain NNN-flat manifolds (N=1,2,… )(N=1,2,\dots)(N=1,2,…), where the 111-flat manifold shares its origin with certainmagic-angle’’ conditions familiar from moiré materials. A central result is the design of a dark-state OFL whose adiabatic Hamiltonian is exactly of Aharonov-Casher (AC) form. This exact AC equivalence guarantees perfectly flat, exactly ideal Chern bands in the adiabatic limit. This method allows for precise tuning of band flatness and stabilizes both Abelian and non-Abelian FQH phases. Our scheme is compatible with existing experimental capabilities using vector polarizability, opening practical routes to exploring strongly correlated topological physics with cold atoms.
The realization of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states in cold atomic gases is a long-standing goal in quantum simulation. Established approaches, including rapidly rotating gases and tight-binding lattices, are often hampered by low interaction energies and small many-body energy gaps. While optical flux lattices (OFLs) can achieve higher effective magnetic flux densities, standard two-state configurations generate highly non-uniform fields, and extensions to multi-state systems introduce significant experimental complexity. Here, we present a new paradigm for engineering robust FQH phases in OFLs using only two internal atomic states. We show that the introduction of an additional scalar potential provides a generic mechanism for creating Chern bands that are simultaneously essentially flat and "ideal". These desirable properties arise by tuning lattice parameters to certain NNN-flat manifolds (N=1,2,… )(N=1,2,\dots)(N=1,2,…), where the 111-flat manifold shares its origin with certain "magic-angle" conditions familiar from moiré materials. A central result is the design of a dark-state OFL whose adiabatic Hamiltonian is exactly of Aharonov-Casher (AC) form. This exact AC equivalence guarantees perfectly flat, exactly vortexable Chern bands in the adiabatic limit. This method allows for precise tuning of band flatness and stabilizes both Abelian and non-Abelian FQH phases. Our scheme is compatible with existing experimental capabilities using vector polarizability, opening practical routes to exploring strongly correlated topological physics with cold atoms.