We describe a simple technique for generating a cold-atom lattice pierced by a uniform magnetic field. Our method is to extend a one-dimensional optical lattice into the \"dimension\" provided by the internal atomic degrees of freedom, yielding a synthetic two-dimensional lattice. Suitable laser coupling between these internal states leads to a uniform magnetic flux within the two-dimensional lattice. We show that this setup reproduces the main features of magnetic lattice systems, such as the fractal Hofstadter-butterfly spectrum and the chiral edge states of the associated Chern insulating phases.

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Synthetic gauge fields in synthetic dimensions

Fermionic Quantum Magnetism Optical lattices loaded with cold atoms have been used successfully as quantum simulators of condensed matter systems; however, in the case of fermionic quantum magnetism, achieving low enough temperatures has been a major obstacle. Greif et al. (p. 1307, published online 23 May; see the Perspective by Porto) selectively tuned the exchange interactions in an optical lattice of fermions, forcing a redistribution of entropy such that in the low-entropy subsystem the effective temperature was sufficiently low enough to lead to magnetic correlations. A redistribution of entropy in an optical lattice loaded with atoms leads to magnetic correlations. [Also see Perspective by Porto] Quantum magnetism originates from the exchange coupling between quantum mechanical spins. Here, we report on the observation of nearest-neighbor magnetic correlations emerging in the many-body state of a thermalized Fermi gas in an optical lattice. The key to obtaining short-range magnetic order is a local redistribution of entropy, which allows temperatures below the exchange energy for a subset of lattice bonds. When loading a repulsively interacting gas into either dimerized or anisotropic simple cubic configurations of a tunable-geometry lattice, we observe an excess of singlets as compared with triplets consisting of two opposite spins. For the anisotropic lattice, the transverse spin correlator reveals antiferromagnetic correlations along one spatial axis. Our work facilitates addressing open problems in quantum magnetism through the use of quantum simulation.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR14/MWS_MAR14-2013-005819.pdf

Short-range Quantum Magnetism of Ultracold Fermions in an Optical Lattice

We describe the design and implementation of a two-dimensional optical lattice of double wells suitable for isolating and manipulating an array of individual pairs of atoms in an optical lattice. Atoms in the square lattice can be placed in a double well with any of their four nearest neighbors. The properties of the double well (the barrier height and relative energy offset of the paired sites) can be dynamically controlled. The topology of the lattice is phase stable against phase noise imparted by vibrational noise on mirrors. We demonstrate the dynamic control of the lattice by showing the coherent splitting of atoms from single wells into double wells and observing the resulting double-slit atom diffraction pattern. This lattice can be used to test controlled neutral atom motion among lattice sites and should allow for testing controlled two-qubit gates.

A lattice of double wells for manipulating pairs of cold atoms.

Phases of matter are characterized by order parameters describing the type and degree of order in a system. Here we experimentally explore the magnetic phases present in a near-zero temperature spin-1 spin–orbit-coupled atomic Bose gas and the quantum phase transitions between these phases. We observe ferromagnetic and unpolarized phases, which are stabilized by spin–orbit coupling's explicit locking between spin and motion. These phases are separated by a critical curve containing both first- and second-order transitions joined at a tricritical point. The first-order transition, with observed width as small as h × 4 Hz, gives rise to long-lived metastable states. These measurements are all in agreement with theory.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR16/MWS_MAR16-2015-005405.pdf

Magnetic phases of spin-1 spin-orbit coupled Bose gases

In this Letter, we present an experimental study of the collective dipole oscillation of a spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap. The dynamics of the center-of-mass dipole oscillation is studied in a broad parameter region as a function of spin-orbit coupling parameters as well as the oscillation amplitude. The anharmonic properties beyond the effective-mass approximation are revealed, such as the amplitude-dependent frequency and finite oscillation frequency at a place with a divergent effective mass. These anharmonic behaviors agree quantitatively with variational wave-function calculations. Moreover, we experimentally demonstrate a unique feature of the spin-orbit coupled system predicted by a sum-rule approach, stating that spin polarization susceptibility--a static physical quantity--can be measured via the dynamics of dipole oscillation. The divergence of polarization susceptibility is observed at the quantum phase transition that separates the magnetic nonzero-momentum condensate from the nonmagnetic zero-momentum phase. The good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results provides a benchmark for recently developed theoretical approaches.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR13/MWS_MAR13-2012-020236.pdf

Collective Dipole Oscillations of a Spin-Orbit Coupled Bose-Einstein Condensate

Light-induced spin-orbit coupling is a flexible tool to study quantum magnetism with ultracold atoms. In this work we show that spin-orbit coupled Bose gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice can be mapped into a two-leg triangular ladder with staggered flux following a lowest-band truncation of the Hamiltonian. The effective flux and the ratio of the tunneling strengths can be independently adjusted to a wide range of values. We identify a certain regime of parameters where a hard-core boson approximation holds and the system realizes a frustrated triangular spin ladder with tunable flux. We study the properties of the effective spin Hamiltonian using the density-matrix renormalization-group method and determine the phase diagram at half-filling. It displays two phases: a uniform superfluid and a bond-ordered insulator. The latter can be stabilized only for low Raman detuning. Finally, we provide experimentally feasible trajectories across the parameter space of the SOC system that cross the predicted phase transition.

Effective triangular ladders with staggered flux from spin-orbit coupling in 1D optical lattices

In spinor Bose-Einstein condensates, spin-changing collisions are a remarkable proxy to coherently realize macroscopic many-body quantum states. These processes have been, e.g., exploited to generate entanglement, to study dynamical quantum phase transitions, and proposed for realizing nematic phases in atomic condensates. In the same systems dressed by Raman beams, the coupling between spin and momentum induces a spin dependence in the scattering processes taking place in the gas. Here we show that, at weak couplings, such modulation of the collisions leads to an effective Hamiltonian which is equivalent to the one of an artificial spinor gas with spin-changing collisions that are tunable with the Raman intensity. By exploiting this dressed-basis description, we propose a robust protocol to coherently drive the spin-orbit-coupled condensate into the ferromagnetic stripe phase via crossing a quantum phase transition of the effective low-energy model in an excited state.

Dynamical preparation of stripe states in spin-orbit-coupled gases

Excited-state quantum phase transitions depend on and reveal the structure of the whole spectrum of many-body systems. While they are theoretically well understood, finding suitable signatures and detect them in actual experiments remains challenging. For instance, in spinor gases, excited-state phases have been identified and characterized through a topological order parameter that is challenging to measure in experiments. Here, we propose the Raman-dressed spin-orbit coupled gas as a novel platform to explore excited-state quantum phase transitions. In a weakly-coupled regime, the dressed system is equivalent to a spinor gas with tunable spin-spin interactions. Through this equivalence we are able to define a new excited-state phase of the dressed gas. The phase is characterize by the the behavior of the spatial density modulations, or stripes, induced by spin-orbit coupling, and can in principle be measured in current state-of-the-art experiments with ultracold atoms. Conversely, we show that the properties of the excited phase can be exploited to prepare stripe states with large and stable density modulations.

Excited-state quantum phase transitions in spin-orbit coupled Bose gases

We study beyond-mean-field properties of interacting spin-1 Bose gases with synthetic Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling at low energies. We derive a many-body Hamiltonian following a tight-binding approximation in quasimomentum space, where the effective spin dependence of the collisions that emerge from spin-orbit coupling leads to dominant correlated tunneling processes that couple the different bound states. We discuss the properties of the spectrum of the derived Hamiltonian and its experimental signatures. In a certain region of the parameter space, the system becomes integrable, and its dynamics becomes analogous to that of a spin-1 condensate with spin-dependent collisions. Remarkably, we find that such dynamics can be observed in existing experimental setups through quench experiments that are robust against magnetic fluctuations.

Josep Cabedo

Papers

Effective triangular ladders with staggered flux from spin-orbit coupling in 1D optical lattices

Dynamical preparation of stripe states in spin-orbit-coupled gases

Excited-state quantum phase transitions in spin-orbit coupled Bose gases

Effective triangular ladders with staggered flux from spin-orbit coupling in 1D optical lattices

Coherent spin mixing via spin-orbit coupling in Bose gases