Realizing a symmetry-protected topological phase in the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Hubbard ladder

ORAL

Abstract

The spin-1 Haldane chain is the paradigmatic example of symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases, which are characterized by non-local quantities and edge states. Here we report on the experimental realization of such a phase using ultracold fermions in optical lattices. Site-resolved potential shaping allows us to create a tailored spin-1/2 ladder geometry needed to explore the topologically nontrivial spin-1 phase. Harnessing the full spin and density resolution of our Fermi-gas microscope, we detect a finite non-local string correlator in the bulk and localized spin-1/2 states at the edges. We confirm the robustness of the state by tuning the ratio of the leg to rung coupling of the ladder. We finally go beyond the spin model and explore the effect of charge fluctuations on the SPT phase in the general Hubbard regime.

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Presenters

  • Sarah Hirthe

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

Authors

  • Sarah Hirthe

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Pimonpan Sompet

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Dominik Bourgund

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Thomas Chalopin

    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Joannis Koepsell

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Petar Bojović

    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Guillaume Salomon

    • Universität Hamburg
    • University of Hamburg
    • Hamburg University

  • Julian Bibo

    • Technical University Munich

  • Frank Pollmann

    • TU Munich
    • Technical University of Munich
    • Tech Univ Muenchen
    • Technical University Munich

  • Timon Alexander Hilker

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Christian Gross

    • Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
    • Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

  • Immanuel Felix Bloch

    • Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
    • Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich