Observation of topological states in an optical Raman lattice with ultracold fermions

ORAL

Abstract

The spin-orbit coupling with cold atoms, especially in optical lattices, provides a versatile platform to investigate the intriguing topological matters. In this talk, we will present the realization of one-dimensional spin-dependent lattice dressed by the periodic Raman field. Ultracold $^{173}$Yb fermions loaded into an optical Raman lattice reveal non-trivial spin textures due to the band topology, by which we measured topological invariants and determined a topological phase transition. In addition, we explored the non-equilibrium quench dynamics between the topological and the trivial states by suddenly changing the band topology of the optical Raman lattice. The optical Raman lattice demonstrated here opens a new avenue to study the spin-orbit coupling physics and furthermore to realize novel quantum matters such as symmetry-protected topological states.

*Funded by Croucher Foundation and Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (Project ECS26300014, GRF16300215, GRF16311516, and Croucher Innovation grants); MOST (Grant No. 2016YFA0301604) and NSFC (No. 11574008)

Authors

  • Bo Song

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Chengdong He

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Long Zhang

    • Peking University
  • Ting Fung Jeffrey Poon

    • Peking University
  • Elnur Hajiyev

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Zejian Ren

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Bojeong Seo

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Shanchao Zhang

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech
  • Xiong-Jun Liu

    • Peking University
  • Gyu-Boong Jo

    • Hong Kong Univ of Sci $ \& $ Tech