Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2212.00167

Emergent Orbital Skyrmion Lattice in a Triangular Atom Array

Cao, Rui, Jinsen Han, Yuan, Jianmin, Xiaopeng Li, Yongqiang Li

Published Nov 30, 2022• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Multi-orbital optical lattices have been attracting rapidly growing research interests in the last several years, providing fascinating opportunities for orbital-based quantum simulations. Here, we consider bosonic atoms loaded in the degenerate $p$-orbital bands of a two-dimensional triangular optical lattice. This system is described by a multi-orbital Bose-Hubbard model. We find the confined atoms in this system develop spontaneous orbital polarization, which forms a chiral Skyrmion lattice pattern in a large regime of the phase diagram. This is in contrast to its spin analogue which largely requires spin-orbit couplings. The emergence of the Skyrmion lattice is confirmed in both bosonic dynamical mean-field theory (BDMFT) and exact diagonalization (ED) calculations. By analyzing the quantum tunneling induced orbital-exchange interaction in the strong interaction limit, we find the Skyrmion lattice state arises due to the interplay of $p$-orbital symmetry and the geometric frustration of the triangular lattice. We provide experimental consequences of the orbital Skyrmion state, that can be readily tested in cold atom experiments. Our study implies orbital-based quantum simulations could bring exotic scenarios unexpected from their spin analogue.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2212.00167

Related papers

Orbital phases of p -band ultracold fermions in a frustrated triangular lattice

J. H. Wu, Hui Tan, Rui Cao +2 more

Orbital degrees of freedom play an important role in understanding the emergence of unconventional quantum phases. Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices provide a wonderful platform to simulate orbital physics. In this work, we consider spinless fermionic atoms loaded into $p$-orbital bands of a two-dimensional frustrated triangular lattice. The system can be described by an extended Fermi-Hubbard model, which is numerically solved by using the orbital version of real-space dynamical mean-field theory. Due to the interplay of anisotropic hoppings and geometrical frustration, a rich phase diagram is found, including stripe-orbital, paraorbital, and ferro-orbital phases, in contrast to its bosonic analog with orbital-skyrmion ordering in the identical lattice. In order to understand the underlying mechanics of competing orbital orders, we derive an effective orbital-exchange model, which yields consistent explanation with our main numerical results.

Physical Review A•Oct 23, 2024•3 citations

Emergent orbital skyrmion lattice in a triangular atom array

Rui Cao, Jinsen Han, Jianmin Yuan +2 more

An orbital texture, an analog of the Skyrmion lattice, is found for bosonic atoms loaded in an optical triangular lattice. The orbital Skyrmion arises from geometric frustration effects in the triangular lattice, unlike conventional scenarios where spin-orbital interactions are required.

Physical Review Research•Dec 22, 2023•1 citation

Orbital phases of $p$-band ultracold fermions in the frustrated triangular lattice

Jiaqi Wu, Hui Tan, Cao, Rui +2 more

Orbital degrees of freedom play an important role for understanding the emergence of unconventional quantum phases. Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices provide a wonderful platform to simulate orbital physics. In this work, we consider spinless fermionic atoms loaded into $p$-orbital bands of a two-dimensional frustrated triangular lattice. The system can be described by an extended Fermi-Hubbard model, which is numerically solved by using the orbital version of real-space dynamical mean-field theory. Low-temperature phase diagrams are obtained, which contain stripe-, ferro- and para-orbital ordered quantum phases, due to the interplay of anisotropic hoppings and geometrical frustration. In order to understand the underlying mechanics of competing orbital orders, we derive an effective orbital-exchange model, which yields consistent explanation with our main numerical results.

arXiv:2407.00932•Jul 1, 2024•0 citations

Chiral Orbital Magnetism of p -Orbital Bosons in Optical Lattices

Bo Liu, Peng Zhang, Hong Xiu Gao +1 more

Chiral magnetism is a fascinating quantum phenomena that has been found in low-dimensional magnetic materials. It is not only interesting for understanding the concept of chirality, but also important for potential applications in spintronics. Past studies show that chiral magnets require both a lack of inversion symmetry and spin-orbit coupling to induce the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Here we report that the combination of inversion symmetry breaking and quantum degeneracy of orbital degrees of freedom will provide a new paradigm to achieve chiral orbital magnetism. By means of density matrix renormalization group calculation, we demonstrate that chiral orbital magnetism can be found when considering bosonic atoms loaded in the p band of an optical lattice in the Mott regime. The high tunability of our scheme is also illustrated through simply manipulating the inversion symmetry of the system for cold atom experimental conditions.

arXiv:1710.08145•Physical Review Letters•Jul 5, 2018•10 citations

Spin-induced orbital frustration in a hexagonal optical lattice

Yongqiang Li, Jianmin Yuan, Xiaoji Zhou +1 more

Complex lattices provide a versatile ground for fascinating quantum many-body physics. Here, we propose an exotic mechanics for generating orbital frustration in hexagonal lattices. We study two-component (pseudospin-$\frac{1}{2}$) Bose gases in $p$-orbital bands of two-dimensional hexagonal lattices, and find that the system exhibits previously untouched orbital frustration as a result of the interplay of spin and orbital degrees of freedom, in contrast to normal Ising-type orbital ordering of spinless $p$-orbital band bosons in two-dimensional hexagonal lattices. Based on the classification by symmetry analysis, we find the interplay of orbital frustration and strong interaction leads to exotic Mott and superfluid phases with spin-orbital intertwined orders, in spite of the complete absence of spin-orbital interaction in the Hamiltonian. Our study implies many-body correlations in a multiorbital setting could induce rich spin-orbital intertwined physics in complex lattice structures.

arXiv:2101.05367•Physical Review Research•Sep 23, 2021•8 citations

Superfluid and magnetic states of an ultracold Bose gas with synthetic three-dimensional spin-orbit coupling in an optical lattice

Dan-Wei Zhang, Ji-Pei Chen, Chuan-Jia Shan +2 more

We study ultracold bosonic atoms with synthetic three-dimensional spin-orbit (SO) coupling in a cubic optical lattice. In the superfluidity phase, the lowest energy band exhibits one, two, or four pairs of degenerate single-particle ground states depending on the SO-coupling strengths, which can give rise to condensate states with spin stripes for weak atomic interactions. In the deep Mott-insulator regime, the effective spin Hamiltonian of the system combines three-dimensional Heisenberg exchange interactions, anisotropy interactions, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. Based on Monte Carlo simulations, we numerically demonstrate that the resulting Hamiltonian with an additional Zeeman field has a rich phase diagram with spiral, stripe, vortex crystal, and especially Skyrmion crystal spin textures in each $xy$-plane layer. The obtained Skyrmion crystals can be tunable with square and hexagonal symmetries in a columnar manner along the $z$ axis, and moreover are stable against the interlayer spin-spin interactions in a large parameter region.

arXiv:1301.2869•Physical Review A•Jul 8, 2013•31 citations
Multi-orbital optical lattices have been attracting rapidly growing research interests in the last several years, providing fascinating opportunities for orbital-based quantum simulations. Here, we consider bosonic atoms loaded in the degenerate ppp-orbital bands of a two-dimensional triangular optical lattice. This system is described by a multi-orbital Bose-Hubbard model. We find the confined atoms in this system develop spontaneous orbital polarization, which forms a chiral Skyrmion lattice pattern in a large regime of the phase diagram. This is in contrast to its spin analogue which largely requires spin-orbit couplings. The emergence of the Skyrmion lattice is confirmed in both bosonic dynamical mean-field theory (BDMFT) and exact diagonalization (ED) calculations. By analyzing the quantum tunneling induced orbital-exchange interaction in the strong interaction limit, we find the Skyrmion lattice state arises due to the interplay of ppp-orbital symmetry and the geometric frustration of the triangular lattice. We provide experimental consequences of the orbital Skyrmion state, that can be readily tested in cold atom experiments. Our study implies orbital-based quantum simulations could bring exotic scenarios unexpected from their spin analogue.
Orbital degrees of freedom play an important role in understanding the emergence of unconventional quantum phases. Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices provide a wonderful platform to simulate orbital physics. In this work, we consider spinless fermionic atoms loaded into ppp-orbital bands of a two-dimensional frustrated triangular lattice. The system can be described by an extended Fermi-Hubbard model, which is numerically solved by using the orbital version of real-space dynamical mean-field theory. Due to the interplay of anisotropic hoppings and geometrical frustration, a rich phase diagram is found, including stripe-orbital, paraorbital, and ferro-orbital phases, in contrast to its bosonic analog with orbital-skyrmion ordering in the identical lattice. In order to understand the underlying mechanics of competing orbital orders, we derive an effective orbital-exchange model, which yields consistent explanation with our main numerical results.
Orbital phases of ppp-band ultracold fermions in the frustrated triangular lattice
Orbital degrees of freedom play an important role for understanding the emergence of unconventional quantum phases. Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices provide a wonderful platform to simulate orbital physics. In this work, we consider spinless fermionic atoms loaded into ppp-orbital bands of a two-dimensional frustrated triangular lattice. The system can be described by an extended Fermi-Hubbard model, which is numerically solved by using the orbital version of real-space dynamical mean-field theory. Low-temperature phase diagrams are obtained, which contain stripe-, ferro- and para-orbital ordered quantum phases, due to the interplay of anisotropic hoppings and geometrical frustration. In order to understand the underlying mechanics of competing orbital orders, we derive an effective orbital-exchange model, which yields consistent explanation with our main numerical results.
Chiral magnetism is a fascinating quantum phenomena that has been found in low-dimensional magnetic materials. It is not only interesting for understanding the concept of chirality, but also important for potential applications in spintronics. Past studies show that chiral magnets require both a lack of inversion symmetry and spin-orbit coupling to induce the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Here we report that the combination of inversion symmetry breaking and quantum degeneracy of orbital degrees of freedom will provide a new paradigm to achieve chiral orbital magnetism. By means of density matrix renormalization group calculation, we demonstrate that chiral orbital magnetism can be found when considering bosonic atoms loaded in the p band of an optical lattice in the Mott regime. The high tunability of our scheme is also illustrated through simply manipulating the inversion symmetry of the system for cold atom experimental conditions.
Complex lattices provide a versatile ground for fascinating quantum many-body physics. Here, we propose an exotic mechanics for generating orbital frustration in hexagonal lattices. We study two-component (pseudospin-12\frac{1}{2}21​) Bose gases in ppp-orbital bands of two-dimensional hexagonal lattices, and find that the system exhibits previously untouched orbital frustration as a result of the interplay of spin and orbital degrees of freedom, in contrast to normal Ising-type orbital ordering of spinless ppp-orbital band bosons in two-dimensional hexagonal lattices. Based on the classification by symmetry analysis, we find the interplay of orbital frustration and strong interaction leads to exotic Mott and superfluid phases with spin-orbital intertwined orders, in spite of the complete absence of spin-orbital interaction in the Hamiltonian. Our study implies many-body correlations in a multiorbital setting could induce rich spin-orbital intertwined physics in complex lattice structures.
We study ultracold bosonic atoms with synthetic three-dimensional spin-orbit (SO) coupling in a cubic optical lattice. In the superfluidity phase, the lowest energy band exhibits one, two, or four pairs of degenerate single-particle ground states depending on the SO-coupling strengths, which can give rise to condensate states with spin stripes for weak atomic interactions. In the deep Mott-insulator regime, the effective spin Hamiltonian of the system combines three-dimensional Heisenberg exchange interactions, anisotropy interactions, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. Based on Monte Carlo simulations, we numerically demonstrate that the resulting Hamiltonian with an additional Zeeman field has a rich phase diagram with spiral, stripe, vortex crystal, and especially Skyrmion crystal spin textures in each xyxyxy-plane layer. The obtained Skyrmion crystals can be tunable with square and hexagonal symmetries in a columnar manner along the zzz axis, and moreover are stable against the interlayer spin-spin interactions in a large parameter region.