Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 15: Focussed Session: Correlations in Topological Bands (jointly with DS, HL, MA, and TT)

O 15.4: Topical Talk

Monday, March 11, 2013, 16:45–17:15, H20

Designing Topological Bands for Ultracold Atomic Gases — •Nigel Cooper — Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK

One of the most important techniques in the ultracold atom toolbox is the optical lattice: a periodic scalar potential formed from standing waves of light. Optical lattices are central to the use of atomic gases as quantum simulators, and allow the exploration of strong-correlation phenomena related to condensed matter systems. I shall describe how to design new forms of optical lattice - so-called ``optical flux lattices" - in which optically dressed atoms experience a periodic effective magnetic flux with high mean density. Optical flux lattices have narrow energy bands with nonzero Chern numbers, analogous to the Landau levels of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field. These lattices will greatly facilitate the achievement of the quantum Hall regime for ultracold atomic gases.