用光晶格模拟狄拉克、外尔和麦克斯韦方程

相对论性量子力学波动方程,如狄拉克、外尔和麦克斯韦方程,是描述微观粒子运动的基石.最近的实验和理论研究表明,冷原子系统中几乎所有参数都可精确调控,因此冷原子系统被认为是实现量子模拟的理想平台,可以用来研究高能和凝聚态物理中的一些基本问题.本文介绍了设计原子光晶格哈密顿量的思路和方法,主要涉及激光辅助跳跃的理论.基于这些方法,物理学界提出了利用光晶格体系模拟相对论性量子力学波动方程,包括狄拉克、外尔和麦克斯韦方程等,并且预言了一些在基本粒子物理中很难观察到,但在冷原子体系可能观察到的物理现象.本文综述了国际上此领域的研究进展.

Simulating Dirac,Weyl and Maxwell equations with cold atoms in optical lattices

Relativistic wave equations, such as Dirac, Weyl or Maxwell equations, are fundamental equations which we use to describe the dynamics of the microscopic particles. On the other hand, recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that almost all parameters in cold atomic systems are precisely tunable, so the cold atom systems are considered as an ideal platform to perform quantum simulations. It can be used to study some topics in high energy and condensed matter physics. In this article, we will first introduce the ideas and methods for engineering the Hamiltonian of atoms, mainly related to the theories of laser-assisted tunneling. Based on these methods, one can simulate the equations of motion of relativistic particles and observe some interesting behaviors which are hard to be observed in other systems. The article reviews these recent advances.