High-field fractional quantum Hall effect in optical lattices

We consider interacting bosonic atoms in an optical lattice subject to a large simulated magnetic field. We develop a model similar to a bilayer fractional quantum Hall system valid near simple rational numbers of magnetic flux quanta per lattice cell. Then we calculate its ground state, magnetic lengths, fractional fillings, and find unexpected sign changes in the Hall current. Finally we study methods for detecting these novel features via shot noise and Hall current measurements.     

Exact parent Hamiltonian for the quantum Hall states in a lattice

We study lattice models of charged particles in uniform magnetic fields. We show how longer range hopping can be engineered to produce a massively degenerate manifold of single-particle ground states with wave functions identical to those making up the lowest Landau level of continuum electrons in a magnetic field. We find that in the presence of local interactions, and at the appropriate filling factors, Laughlin's fractional quantum Hall wave function is an exact many-body ground state of our lattice model. The hopping matrix elements in our model fall off as a Gaussian, and when the flux per plaquette is small compared to the fundamental flux quantum one only needs to include nearest and next-nearest neighbor hoppings. We suggest how to realize this model using atoms in optical lattices, and describe observable consequences of the resulting fractional quantum Hall physics.     

Quantum phase transition of cold atoms trapped in optical lattices

We review our recent theoretical advances in phase transition of cold atoms in optical lattices, such as triangular lattice, honeycomb lattice, and Kagomé lattice. By employing the new developed numerical methods called dynamical cluster approximation and cellular dynamical mean-field theory, the properties in different phases of cold atoms in optical lattices are studied, such as density of states, Fermi surface and double occupancy. On triangular lattice, a reentrant behavior of phase translation line between Fermi liquid state and pseudogap state is found due to the Kondo effect. We find the system undergoes a second order Mott transition from a metallic state into a Mott insulator state on honeycomb lattice and triangular Kagomé lattice. The stability of quantum spin Hall phase towards interaction on honeycomb lattice with spin-orbital coupling is systematically discussed. And we investigate the transition from quantum spin Hall insulator to normal insulator in Kagomé lattice which includes a nearest-neighbor intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and a trimerized Hamiltonian. In addition, we propose the experimental protocols to observe these phase transition of cold atoms in optical lattices.     

Spin Hall effects for cold atoms in a light-induced gauge potential

We propose an experimental scheme to observe spin Hall effects with cold atoms in a light-induced gauge potential. Under an appropriate configuration, the cold atoms moving in a spatially varying laser field experience an effective spin-dependent gauge potential. Through numerical simulation, we demonstrate that such a gauge field leads to observable spin Hall currents under realistic conditions. We also discuss the quantum spin Hall state in an optical lattice.     

Global phase diagram of the fractional quantum Hall effect arising from repulsive three-body interactions

The model of fermions in a magnetic field interacting via a purely three-body repulsive interaction has attracted interest because it produces, in the limit of short range interaction, the Pfaffian state with non-Abelian excitations. We show that this is part of a rich phase diagram containing a host of fractional quantum Hall states, a composite fermion Fermi sea, and a pairing transition. This is entirely unexpected, because the appearance of composite fermions and fractional quantum Hall effect is ordinarily thought to be a result of strong two-body repulsion. Recent breakthroughs in ultracold atoms have facilitated the realization of such a system, where this physics can be tested.     

Reconstructing the electron in a fractionalized quantum fluid

The low-energy physics of the fractional Hall liquid is described in terms of quasiparticles that are qualitatively distinct from electrons. We show, however, that a long-lived electronlike quasiparticle also exists in the excitation spectrum: the state obtained by the application of an electron creation operator to a fractional quantum Hall ground state has a nonzero overlap with a complex, high energy bound state containing an odd number of composite-fermion quasiparticles. The electron annihilation operator similarly couples to a bound complex of composite-fermion holes. We predict that these bound states can be observed through a conductance resonance in experiments involving a tunneling of an external electron into the fractional quantum Hall liquid. A comment is made on the origin of the breakdown of the Fermi liquid paradigm in the fractional Hall liquid.     

石墨烯中新奇量子物态的研究

石墨烯特殊的晶格结构和能带结构赋予了它独特的电学性质. 近年来, 分数量子霍尔态、 魔角石墨烯中的 关联绝缘体态和超导态等现象的发现不断证明着石墨烯是一种理想的二维模型体系, 可用于实现一系列新奇的量子物态, 对石墨烯中新奇量子物态的探测和调控也一直是凝聚态物理领域的前沿研究热点之一. 本文将系统地介绍近年来石墨烯中对称性破缺量子物态的研究进展, 包括平带中强关联量子物态的研究以及谷赝自旋调控的研究, 并介绍一种在纳米尺度、 单电子精度上探测二维材料体系简并度及对称性破缺态的普适方法, 希望为相关领域的研究人员提供参考和借鉴.     

The quantum anomalous Hall effect on a star lattice with spin-orbit coupling and an exchange field

We study a star lattice with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and an exchange field and find that there is a quantum anomalous Hall effect in this system, and that there are five energy gaps at Dirac points and quadratic band crossing points. We calculate the Berry curvature distribution and obtain the Hall conductivity (Chern number ν) quantized as integers, and find that ν?=-?1,2,1,1,2 when the Fermi level lies in these five gaps. Our model can be viewed as a general quantum anomalous Hall system and, in limit cases, can give what the honeycomb lattice and kagome lattice give. We also find that there is a nearly flat band with ν?=?1 which may provide an opportunity for realizing the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect. Finally, the chiral edge states on a zigzag star lattice are given numerically, to confirm the topological property of this system.     

Rotating spin-1 bose clusters

We propose a simple scheme for generating rotating atomic clusters in an optical lattice which produces states with quantum Hall and spin liquid properties. As the rotation frequencies increase, the ground state of a rotating cluster of spin-1 Bose atoms undergoes a sequence of (spin and orbit) transitions, which terminates at an angular momentum L(*) substantially lower than that of the boson Laughlin state. The spin-orbit correlations reflect "fermionization" of bosons facilitated by their spin degrees of freedom. We also show that the density of an expanding group of clusters has a scaling form which reveals the quantum Hall and spin structure of a single cluster.     

Fractional quantum Hall regime of a gas of ultracold atoms

We study the physics of a rapidly rotating gas of ultracold bosonic atoms. In the limit of very rapid rotation of the trap the system exhibits a fractional quantum Hall regime analogous to that of electrons in the fractional quantum Hall effect. We show that the ground state of the system is a 1/2-Laughlin liquid, a highly correlated atomic liquid. Exotic excitations consisting of localized quasiholes of 1/2 of an atom can be created by focusing lasers at the desired positions. We show how to manipulate these quasiholes in order to probe directly their 1/2-statistics.     

Rashba自旋轨道耦合下square-octagon晶格的拓扑相变

本文研究了各向同性square-octagon晶格在内禀自旋轨道耦合、Rashba自旋轨道耦合和交换场作用下的拓扑相变,同时引入陈数和自旋陈数对系统进行拓扑分类.系统在自旋轨道耦合和交换场的影响下会出现许多拓扑非平庸态,包括时间反演对称破缺的量子自旋霍尔态和量子反常霍尔态.特别的是,在时间反演对称破缺的量子自旋霍尔效应中,无能隙螺旋边缘态依然能够完好存在.调节交换场或者填充因子的大小会导致系统发生从时间反演对称破缺的量子自旋霍尔态到自旋过滤的量子反常霍尔态的拓扑相变.边缘态能谱和自旋谱的性质与陈数和自旋陈数的拓扑刻画完全一致.这些研究成果为自旋量子操控提供了一个有趣的途径.     

Torsional response and dissipationless viscosity in topological insulators

We consider the viscoelastic response of the electronic degrees of freedom in 2D and 3D topological insulators (TI's). Our primary focus is on the 2D Chern insulator which exhibits a bulk dissipationless viscosity analogous to the quantum Hall viscosity predicted in integer and fractional quantum Hall states. We show that the dissipationless viscosity is the response of a TI to torsional deformations of the underlying lattice geometry. The viscoelastic response also indicates that crystal dislocations in Chern insulators will carry momentum density. We briefly discuss generalizations to 3D which imply that time-reversal invariant TI's will exhibit a quantum Hall viscosity on their surfaces.     

Metamorphosis of the quantum Hall ferromagnet at nu=2/5

We report on the dramatic evolution of the quantum Hall ferromagnet in the fractional quantum Hall regime at nu=2/5 filling. A large enhancement in the characteristic time scale gives rise to a dynamical transition into a novel quantized Hall state. The observed Hall state is determined to be a zero-temperature phase distinct from the spin-polarized and spin-unpolarized nu=2/5 fractional quantum Hall states. It is characterized by a strong temperature dependence and puzzling correlation between temperature and time.     

Topological invariants for fractional quantum hall states

We calculate a topological invariant, whose value would coincide with the Chern number in the case of integer quantum Hall effect, for fractional quantum Hall states. In the case of Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant is shown to be equal to the trace of the K-matrix. In the case of non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant can be calculated on a case by case basis from the conformal field theory describing these states. This invariant can be used, for example, to distinguish between different fractional Hall states numerically even though, as a single number, it cannot uniquely label distinct states.     

Hierarchy of composite fermions in the Hamiltonian theory

Most states of the fractional quantum Hall effect may be interpreted in terms of an integral quantum Hall effect of weakly-interacting quasiparticles (composite fermions). The recently discovered state does not belong to these states because its formation is due to the residual interactions between composite fermions, which become relevant when the composite-fermion levels are only partially filled. We have derived a model of interacting composite fermions, which reveals the self-similarity of the fractional quantum Hall effect and which allows for a systematic study of higher generations of composite fermions. Here, we derive the form of the interaction potential between these hierarchical composite fermions and provide some stability criteria for such states.     

Non-abelian quantum Hall effect in topological flat bands

Inspired by the recent theoretical discovery of robust fractional topological phases without a magnetic field, we search for the non-abelian quantum Hall effect in lattice models with topological flat bands. Through extensive numerical studies on the Haldane model with three-body hard-core bosons loaded into a topological flat band, we find convincing numerical evidence of a stable ν=1 bosonic non-abelian quantum Hall effect, with the characteristic threefold quasidegeneracy of ground states on a torus, a quantized Chern number, and a robust spectrum gap. Moreover, the spectrum for two-quasihole states also shows a finite energy gap, with the number of states in the lower-energy sector satisfying the same counting rule as the Moore-Read pfaffian state.     

Measurement of the ν=1/3 fractional quantum hall energy gap in suspended graphene

We report on magnetotransport measurements of multiterminal suspended graphene devices. Fully developed integer quantum Hall states appear in magnetic fields as low as 2 T. At higher fields the formation of longitudinal resistance minima and transverse resistance plateaus are seen corresponding to fractional quantum Hall states, most strongly for ν=1/3. By measuring the temperature dependence of these resistance minima, the energy gap for the 1/3 fractional state in graphene is determined to be at ～20 K at 14 T.     

Jaynes-Cummings dynamics with a matter wave oscillator

We propose to subject two Bose-Einstein condensates to a periodic potential, so that one condensate undergoes the Mott-insulator transition to a state with precisely one atom per lattice site. We show that photoassociation of heteronuclear molecules within each lattice site is described by the quantum optical Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. In analogy with studies of this Hamiltonian with cavity fields and trapped ions, we are thus able to engineer quantum optical states of atomic matter wave fields and we are able to reconstruct these states by quantum state tomography.