Hannover 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 48: Ultra-cold atoms, ions and BEC III (with A)

Q 48.7: Vortrag

Donnerstag, 3. März 2016, 12:30–12:45, f107

Topological bands in cold gases — •Sebastian Weber, David Peter, and Hans Peter Büchler — Institute for Theoretical Physics III, University of Stuttgart, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany

Topological band structures are the basis for interesting phenomena like integer and fractional topological insulators that are of high research interest. Recently it has been demonstrated that topological bands characterized by a Chern number can be realized with dipolar exchange interaction [1].

We present a proposal for the implementation of this idea using Rydberg atoms. We analyze finite geometries and investigate the appearance of edge states as a signature of topological bands. In particular, we search for minimal systems that show experimentally accessible edge states.

We study the robustness of edge states to lattice defects. Remarkably, it turns out that their stability allows the realization of interesting systems in optical lattices with slight imperfections. We can increase the robustness further if we use cutoff potentials that suppress the interaction on small length scales. This method paves the way for a novel continuum model that exhibits topological bands.

[1] D. Peter et al., Topological flat bands with Chern number C=2 by dipolar exchange interactions, Phys. Rev. A 91, 053617 (2015)