Michael Messer

Experimental realization of the topological Haldane model with ultracold fermions

The Haldane model on a honeycomb lattice is a paradigmatic example of a Hamiltonian featuring topologically distinct phases of matter. It describes a mechanism through which a quantum Hall effect can appear as an intrinsic property of a band structure, rather than being caused by an external magnetic field. Although physical implementation has been considered unlikely, the Haldane model has provided the conceptual basis for theoretical and experimental research exploring topological insulators and superconductors. Here we report the experimental realization of the Haldane model and the characterization of its topological band structure, using ultracold fermionic atoms in a periodically modulated optical honeycomb lattice. The Haldane model is based on breaking both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry. To break time-reversal symmetry, we introduce complex next-nearest-neighbour tunnelling terms, which we induce through circular modulation of the lattice position. To break inversion symmetry, we create an energy offset between neighbouring sites. Breaking either of these symmetries opens a gap in the band structure, which we probe using momentum-resolved interband transitions. We explore the resulting Berry curvatures, which characterize the topology of the lowest band, by applying a constant force to the atoms and find orthogonal drifts analogous to a Hall current. The competition between the two broken symmetries gives rise to a transition between topologically distinct regimes. By identifying the vanishing gap at a single Dirac point, we map out this transition line experimentally and quantitatively compare it to calculations using Floquet theory without free parameters. We verify that our approach, which allows us to tune the topological properties dynamically, is suitable even for interacting fermionic systems. Furthermore, we propose a direct extension to realize spin-dependent topological Hamiltonians.

Artificial graphene with tunable interactions.

We create an artificial graphene system with tunable interactions and study the crossover from metallic to Mott insulating regimes, both in isolated and coupled two-dimensional honeycomb layers. The artificial graphene consists of a two-component spin mixture of an ultracold atomic Fermi gas loaded into a hexagonal optical lattice. For strong repulsive interactions, we observe a suppression of double occupancy and measure a gapped excitation spectrum. We present a quantitative comparison between our measurements and theory, making use of a novel numerical method to obtain Wannier functions for complex lattice structures. Extending our studies to time-resolved measurements, we investigate the equilibration of the double occupancy as a function of lattice loading time.

Formation and Dynamics of Antiferromagnetic Correlations in Tunable Optical Lattices.

We report on the observation of antiferromagnetic correlations of ultracold fermions in a variety of optical lattice geometries that are well described by the Hubbard model, including dimers, 1D chains, ladders, isolated and coupled honeycomb planes, as well as square and cubic lattices. The dependence of the strength of spin correlations on the specific geometry is experimentally studied by measuring the correlations along different lattice tunneling links, where a redistribution of correlations between the different lattice links is observed. By measuring the correlations in a crossover between distinct geometries, we demonstrate an effective reduction of the dimensionality for our atom numbers and temperatures. We also investigate the formation and redistribution time of spin correlations by dynamically changing the lattice geometry and studying the time evolution of the system. Time scales ranging from a sudden quench of the lattice geometry to an adiabatic evolution are probed.

Enhancement and sign change of magnetic correlations in a driven quantum many-body system

Periodic driving can be used to control the properties of a many-body state coherently and to realize phases that are not accessible in static systems. For example, exposing materials to intense laser pulses makes it possible to induce metal–insulator transitions, to control magnetic order and to generate transient superconducting behaviour well above the static transition temperature. However, pinning down the mechanisms underlying these phenomena is often difficult because the response of a material to irradiation is governed by complex, many-body dynamics. For static systems, extensive calculations have been performed to explain phenomena such as high-temperature superconductivity. Theoretical analyses of driven many-body Hamiltonians are more challenging, but approaches have now been developed, motivated by recent observations. Here we report an experimental quantum simulation in a periodically modulated hexagonal lattice and show that antiferromagnetic correlations in a fermionic many-body system can be reduced, enhanced or even switched to ferromagnetic correlations (sign reversal). We demonstrate that the description of the many-body system using an effective Floquet–Hamiltonian with a renormalized tunnelling energy remains valid in the high-frequency regime by comparing the results to measurements in an equivalent static lattice. For near-resonant driving, the enhancement and sign reversal of correlations is explained by a microscopic model of the system in which the particle tunnelling and magnetic exchange energies can be controlled independently. In combination with the observed sufficiently long lifetimes of the correlations in this system, periodic driving thus provides an alternative way of investigating unconventional pairing in strongly correlated systems experimentally.

Creating State-Dependent Lattices for Ultracold Fermions by Magnetic Gradient Modulation.

We demonstrate a versatile method for creating state-dependent optical lattices by applying a magnetic field gradient modulated in time. This allows for tuning the relative amplitude and sign of the tunneling for different internal states. We observe substantially different momentum distributions depending on the spin state of fermionic ^{40}K atoms. Using dipole oscillations, we probe the spin-dependent band structure and find good agreement with theory. In situ expansion dynamics demonstrate that one state can be completely localized while others remain itinerant. A systematic study shows negligible heating and lifetimes of several seconds in the Hubbard regime.

Exploring competing density order in the ionic Hubbard model with ultracold fermions.

We realize and study the ionic Hubbard model using an interacting two-component gas of fermionic atoms loaded into an optical lattice. The bipartite lattice has a honeycomb geometry with a staggered energy offset that explicitly breaks the inversion symmetry. Distinct density-ordered phases are identified using noise correlation measurements of the atomic momentum distribution. For weak interactions the geometry induces a charge density wave. For strong repulsive interactions we detect a strong suppression of doubly occupied sites, as expected for a Mott insulating state, and the externally broken inversion symmetry is not visible anymore in the density distribution. The local density distributions in different configurations are characterized by measuring the number of doubly occupied lattice sites as a function of interaction and energy offset. We further probe the excitations of the system using direction dependent modulation spectroscopy and discover a complex spectrum, which we compare with a theoretical model.

Controlling the Floquet state population and observing micromotion in a periodically driven two-body quantum system

Near-resonant periodic driving of quantum systems promises the implementation of a large variety of novel quantum states, though their preparation and measurement remains challenging. We address these aspects in a model system consisting of interacting fermions in a periodically driven array of double wells created by an optical lattice. The singlet and triplet fractions and the double occupancy of the Floquet states are measured and their behavior as a function of the interaction strength is analyzed in the high- and low-frequency regimes. We demonstrate full control of the Floquet state population and find suitable ramping protocols and time scales that adiabatically connect the initial ground state to different targeted Floquet states. The micromotion that exactly describes the time evolution of the system within one driving cycle is observed. Additionally, we provide an analytic description of the model and compare it to numerical simulations.

Creating topological interfaces and detecting chiral edge modes in a two-dimensional optical lattice

We propose a general scheme to create chiral topological edge modes within the bulk of two-dimensional engineered quantum systems. Our method is based on the implementation of topological interfaces, designed within the bulk of the system, where topologically protected edge modes localize and freely propagate in a unidirectional manner. This scheme is illustrated through an optical-lattice realization of the Haldane model for cold atoms [G. Jotzu, Nature (London) 515, 237 (2014)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature13915], where an additional spatially varying lattice potential induces distinct topological phases in separated regions of space. We present two realistic experimental configurations, which lead to linear and radial-symmetric topological interfaces, which both allow one to significantly reduce the effects of external confinement on topological edge properties. Furthermore, the versatility of our method opens the possibility of tuning the position, the localization length, and the chirality of the edge modes, through simple adjustments of the lattice potentials. In order to demonstrate the unique detectability offered by engineered interfaces, we numerically investigate the time evolution of wave packets, indicating how topological transport unambiguously manifests itself within the lattice. Finally, we analyze the effects of disorder on the dynamics of chiral and nonchiral states present in the system. Interestingly, engineered disorder is shown to provide a powerful tool for the detection of topological edge modes in cold-atom setups.