GP2 - Birmingham Workshop Program: Phases of interacting bosons in a hybrid Harper-Hofstadter system with a synthetic dimension of harmonic trap states

Session Information

Location: Physics West 103 | School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham
Day: 1. Tuesday 21st April
Time: 17:00-18:00
Chairperson: N/A

Presentation Details

Presentation Type: Poster | 
Title: Phases of interacting bosons in a hybrid Harper-Hofstadter system with a synthetic dimension of harmonic trap states
Abstract: Synthetic dimensions are a powerful tool for engineering desired quantum systems, based on coupling together sets of states and reinterpreting these as lattice sites along an artificial dimension. Recently, a synthetic dimension of harmonic trap states has been successfully implemented in an ultracold atom experiment, opening the way for future realizations in this platform of topological lattice models, such as hybrid Harper-Hofstadter (HH) systems, which have one real and one synthetic dimension. However, unlike conventional systems, inter-particle interactions along a synthetic dimension of harmonic trap states are inhomogeneous, long-ranged and non-state-preserving. Therefore, this setup provides a natural platform for the exploration of the interplay between long range interactions (including correlated pair tunneling) and magnetic effects. In this paper, we set out to numerically study the effect of such interactions on both a hybrid two-legged HH ladder and a 2D HH model. In the former, we find variants of vortex and Meissner phases familiar from conventional models, while in the latter, we observe the emergence, in small finite systems, of unusual ground states, including a ``Meissner stripe" state, which combines counter-propagating Meissner-like currents with strong density variations. This opens up interesting questions, including about the nature of strongly-correlated states that would emerge in such a platform.

Presenter

Dr David Reid
University of Birmingham | United Kingdom

Authors

1. Reid, David G | School of Physics and Astronomy University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
2. Middleton-Spencer, Holly A. J. | School of Physics and Astronomy University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
3. Salerno, Grazia | Dipartimento di Fisica, "E. Fermi", Universita di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, Pisa, 56127 Italy
4. Goldman, Nathan | International Solvay Institutes, 1050 Brussels Belgium. Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.), B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, College de France, 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France.
5. Price, Hannah M. | School of Physics and Astronomy University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.