Hannover 2010 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 65: Quantum Gases : Lattices III
Q 65.7: Talk
Friday, March 12, 2010, 15:45–16:00, E 001
Pfaffian state(s) simulation in 2D Spin-1 Optical Lattices — Leonardo Mazza1, •Matteo Rizzi1, Maciej Lewenstein2, and J. Ignacio Cirac1 — 1Max Planck Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Deutscheland — 2ICREA and ICFO, Barcelona, Spain
We investigate the possibility of simulating bosons subject to an infinite three-body contact repulsion, and to an external magnetic field, with experimentally feasible cold atoms setups. A spin-1 (F=1) atomic Mott insulator with one atom per site provides the required three local degrees of freedom; suitable laser assisted couplings via an auxiliary F=2 ancilla tailor the dynamics of the experimental system to the desired one.
Such a scheme can be used to investigate Pfaffian (Moore-Read) states, arising in the context of Quantum Hall Effect (QHE) if particles are constrained to be not more than two in a single place; their bosonic version displays a QHE filling factor ν=1, i.e. one particle for each quantum of magnetic flux. One of their most intriguing features is the support of non-abelian topological excitations. Up to now, the long quest for Pfaffian physics has not produced experimental fingerprints: our proposal could open a new way towards this goal.
Finally, we characterize the ground state of the discrete system, demonstrating that for a dilute enough one the well-known topological properties of the continuum QHE are preserved. With the help of Chern numbers and ground state degeneracy, we show that even increasing the magnetic field these properties should not be abruptly washed out.