Rydberg-atom quantum simulation and Chern-number characterization of a topological Mott insulator

In this work we consider a system of spinless fermions with nearest and next-to-nearest neighbor repulsive Hubbard interactions on a honeycomb lattice, and propose and analyze a realistic scheme for analog quantum simulation of this model with cold atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal optical lattic...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Dauphin, Alexander, Müller, Markus, Martín-Delgado Alcántara, Miguel Ángel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/42806
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42806
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:53
Attractive spinless fermions
Quantized hall conductance
Honeycomb lattice
Neutral atoms
Phase-transitions
Optical lattices
Magnetic-fields
Polar-molecules
Dirac fermions
Surface.
Física-Modelos matemáticos
Descripción
Sumario:In this work we consider a system of spinless fermions with nearest and next-to-nearest neighbor repulsive Hubbard interactions on a honeycomb lattice, and propose and analyze a realistic scheme for analog quantum simulation of this model with cold atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal optical lattice. To this end, we first derive the zero-temperature phase diagram of the interacting model within a mean-field theory treatment. We show that besides a semimetallic and a charge-density-wave ordered phase, the system exhibits a quantum anomalous Hall phase, which is generated dynamically, i.e., purely as a result of the repulsive fermionic interactions and in the absence of any external gauge fields. We establish the topological nature of this dynamically created Mott-insulating phase by the numerical calculation of a Chern number, and we study the possibility of coexistence of this phase with any of the other phases characterized by local order parameters. Based on the knowledge of the mean-field phase diagram, we then discuss in detail how the interacting Hamiltonian can be engineered effectively by state-of-the-art experimental techniques for laser dressing of cold fermionic ground-state atoms with electronically excited Rydberg states that exhibit strong dipolar interactions.