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arXiv:1205.4574 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Geometric phases generated by the non-trivial spatial topology of static vector fields linearly coupled to a neutral spin-endowed particle: application to171Yb atoms trapped in a 2D optical lattice

Marie-Anne Bouchiat, Claude C. Bouchiat

Published Sep 21, 2012• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have constructed the geometric phases emerging from the non-trivial topology of a space-dependent magnetic field, interacting with the spin magnetic moment of a neutral particle. Our basic tool is the local unitary transformation which recasts the magnetic spin interaction under a diagonal form. Rewriting the kinetic term in the "rotated" frame requires the introduction of non-Abelian covariant derivatives, involving the gradients of the Euler angles which define the orientation of the local field. Within the rotated frame, we have built a perturbation scheme,assuming that the longitudinal non-Abelian field component dominates the transverse ones, to be evaluated to second-order. The geometry embedded in the longitudinal gauge vector field and its curl, the geometric magnetic field, is described by the associated Aharonov-Bohm phase. As an illustration, we study the physics of cold 171Yb atoms dressed by two sets of circularly polarized beams, forming square or triangular 2D optical lattices. The geometric field is computed explicitly from the Euler angles. The magnitude of 2nd-order corrections due to transverse fields can be reduced to the percent level by a choice of light intensity which keeps the dressed atom loss rate below 5 s^{-1}. An auxiliary optical lattice confines the atoms within 2D domains where the geometric field is pointing upward.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/45/40/405307

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Geometric Phases generated by the non-trivial spatial topology of static vector fields coupled to a neutral spin-endowed particle. Application to ^171Yb atoms trapped in a 2D optical lattice

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We have constructed the geometric phases emerging from the non-trivial topology of a space-dependent magnetic field, interacting with the spin magnetic moment of a neutral particle. Our basic tool is the local unitary transformation which recasts the magnetic spin interaction under a diagonal form. Rewriting the kinetic term in the "rotated" frame requires the introduction of non-Abelian covariant derivatives, involving the gradients of the Euler angles which define the orientation of the local field. Within the rotated frame, we have built a perturbation scheme,assuming that the longitudinal non-Abelian field component dominates the transverse ones, to be evaluated to second-order. The geometry embedded in the longitudinal gauge vector field and its curl, the geometric magnetic field, is described by the associated Aharonov-Bohm phase. As an illustration, we study the physics of cold 171Yb atoms dressed by two sets of circularly polarized beams, forming square or triangular 2D optical lattices. The geometric field is computed explicitly from the Euler angles. The magnitude of 2nd-order corrections due to transverse fields can be reduced to the percent level by a choice of light intensity which keeps the dressed atom loss rate below 5 s^{-1}. An auxiliary optical lattice confines the atoms within 2D domains where the geometric field is pointing upward.
We have constructed the geometric phases emerging from the non-trivial topology of a space-dependent magnetic field, interacting with the spin magnetic moment of a neutral particle. Our basic tool is the local unitary transformation which recasts the magnetic spin interaction under a diagonal form. Rewriting the kinetic term in the "rotated" frame requires the introduction of non-Abelian covariant derivatives, involving the gradients of the Euler angles which define the orientation of the local field. Within the rotated frame, we have built a perturbation scheme,assuming that the longitudinal non-Abelian field component dominates the transverse ones, to be evaluated to second-order. The geometry embedded in the longitudinal gauge vector field and its curl, the geometric magnetic field, is described by the associated Aharonov-Bohm phase. As an illustration, we study the physics of cold ^{171}Yb atoms dressed by two sets of circularly polarized beams, forming square or triangular 2D optical lattices. The geometric field is computed explicitly from the Euler angles. The magnitude of 2nd-order corrections due to transverse fields can be reduced to the percent level by a choice of light intensity which keeps the dressed atom loss rate below 5 s^{-1}. An auxiliary optical lattice confines the atoms within 2D domains where the geometric field is pointing upward.
We theoretically explore the optical flux lattices produced for ultra-cold atoms subject to laser fields where both the atom-light coupling and the effective detuning are spatially periodic. We analyze the geometric vector potential and the magnetic flux it generates, as well as the accompanying geometric scalar potential. We show how to understand the gauge-dependent Aharonov-Bohm singularities in the vector potential, and calculate the continuous magnetic flux through the elementary cell in terms of these singularities. The analysis is illustrated with a square optical flux lattice. We conclude with an explicit laser configuration yielding such a lattice using a set of five properly chosen beams with two counterpropagating pairs (one along the x axes and the other y axes), together with a single beam along the z axis. We show that this lattice is not phase-stable, and identify the one phase-difference that affects the magnetic flux. Thus armed with realistic laser setup, we directly compute the Chern number of the lowest Bloch band to identify the region where the non- zero magnetic flux produces a topologically non-trivial band structure.
We illustrate how geometric gauge forces and topological phase effects emerge in atomic and molecular systems without employing assumptions that rely on adiabaticity. We show how geometric magnetism may be harnessed to engineer novel quantum devices including a velocity sieve, a component in mass spectrometers, for neutral atoms. We introduce and outline a possible experimental setup that demonstrates topological interferometry for neutral spin-1/2 systems. For that two-level system, we study the transition from Abelian to non-Abelian behavior and explore its relation to the molecular Aharonov-Bohm effect.
When a neutral atom moves in a properly designed laser field, its center-of-mass motion may mimic the dynamics of a charged particle in a magnetic field, with the emergence of a Lorentz-like force. In this Colloquium the physical principles at the basis of this artificial (synthetic) magnetism are presented. The corresponding Aharonov-Bohm phase is related to the Berry's phase that emerges when the atom adiabatically follows one of the dressed states of the atom-laser interaction. Some manifestations of artificial magnetism for a cold quantum gas, in particular, in terms of vortex nucleation are discussed. The analysis is then generalized to the simulation of non-Abelian gauge potentials and some striking consequences are presented, such as the emergence of an effective spin-orbit coupling. Both the cases of bulk gases and discrete systems, where atoms are trapped in an optical lattice, are addressed.
This thesis focuses on the simulation of the physics of a charged particle under an external magnetic field by using discrete-time quantum walks of a spin-1/2 particle in a two-dimensional lattice. By Floquet-engineering the quantum-walk protocol, an Aharonov–Bohm geometric phase is imprinted onto closed-loop paths in the lattice, thus realizing an abelian gauge field—the analog of a magnetic flux threading a two-dimensional electron gas. I show that in the strong-field regime, i.e. when the flux per plaquette of the lattice is a sizable fraction of the flux quantum, magnetic quantum walks give rise to nearly flat energy bands. I demonstrate that the system behaves like a Chern insulator by computing the Chern numbers of the energy bands and studying the excitation of the midgap topologically protected edge modes. These modes are extended all along the boundaries of the magnetic domains and remain robust against perturbations that respect the gap closing conditions. Furthermore, I discuss a possible experimental implementation of this scheme using neutral atoms trapped in two dimensional spin-dependent optical lattices. The proposed scheme has a number of unique features, e.g. it allows one to generate arbitrary magnetic-field landscapes, including those with sharp boundaries along which topologically protected edge states can be localized and probed. Additionally, I introduce the scattering matrix approach in discrete-time quantum walks to probe the Hofstadter spectrum and compute its topological invariants. By opening up a discrete-time quantum walk system and connecting it to metallic leads, I demonstrate that the reflection/transmission probabilities of a particle from the scattering region give information on the energy spectrum and topological invariants of the system. Although the work presented here focuses on the physics of a single particle in a clean system, it sets the stage for studies of many-body topological states in the presence of interactions and disorder.
Abstract Topological many-body phases of matter exhibit remarkable electronic properties and ultracold atoms in optical lattices constitute promising candidates to study them in a well-controlled environment. In two-dimensional (2D) electron gases topological phases may emerge in the presence of strong magnetic fields. This situation is not directly applicable to cold atoms because they are charge neutral. Therefore, novel experimental techniques have been developed to engineer novel lattice systems, whose Hamiltonian is formally equivalent to the one of charged particles in magnetic fields. In this Tutorial, we introduce a paradigmatic topological lattice model, the Hofstadter model, and explain how it can be implemented with ultracold atoms using laser-assisted tunneling. The technique is based on imprinting phases on the tunneling matrix elements using additional laser beams. These phases are reminiscent of Aharonov–Bohm phases and can be interpreted as a magnetic flux piercing the lattice unit cell. We present experimental results on the cyclotron-like dynamics of neutral atoms in isolated four-site square plaquettes and discuss the first measurement of a 2D topological invariant, the Chern number, in artificially generated Hofstadter bands. The work presented in this Tutorial was one of the four shortlisted finalists of the 2016 DPG SAMOP dissertation prize.