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Measuring topology in a laser-coupled honeycomb lattice: from Chern insulators to topological semi-metals.

Authors :
Goldman, N.
Anisimovas, E.
Gerbier, F.
Öhberg, P.
Spielman, I. B.
Juzeliūnas, G.
Source :
New Journal of Physics. Jan2013, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p1-30. 30p.
Publication Year :
2013

Abstract

Ultracold fermions trapped in a honeycomb optical lattice constitute a versatile setup to experimentally realize the Haldane model (1988 Phys. Rev. Lett. 61 2015). In this system, a non-uniform synthetic magnetic flux can be engineered through laser-induced methods, explicitly breaking time-reversal symmetry. This potentially opens a bulk gap in the energy spectrum, which is associated with a non-trivial topological order, i.e. a non-zero Chern number. In this paper, we consider the possibility of producing and identifying such a robust Chern insulator in the laser-coupled honeycomb lattice. We explore a large parameter space spanned by experimentally controllable parameters and obtain a variety of phase diagrams, clearly identifying the accessible topologically non-trivial regimes. We discuss the signatures of Chern insulators in coldatom systems, considering available detection methods. We also highlight the existence of topological semi-metals in this system, which are gapless phases characterized by non-zero winding numbers, not present in Haldane's original model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
13672630
Volume :
15
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
New Journal of Physics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
86671047
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/15/1/013025