Flux attachment provides a powerful conceptual framework for understanding certain forms of topological order, including most notably the fractional quantum Hall effect. Despite its ubiquitous use as a theoretical tool, directly realizing flux attachment in a microscopic setting remains an open challenge. Here, we propose a simple approach to realizing flux attachment in a periodically-driven (Floquet) system of either spins or hard-core bosons. We demonstrate that such a system naturally realizes correlated hopping interactions and provides a sharp connection between such interactions and flux attachment. Starting with a simple, nearest-neighbor, free boson model, we find evidence -- from both a coupled wire analysis and large-scale density matrix renormalization group simulations -- that Floquet flux attachment stabilizes the bosonic integer quantum Hall state at $1/4$ filling (on a square lattice), and the Halperin-221 fractional quantum Hall state at $1/6$ filling (on a honeycomb lattice). At $1/2$ filling on the square lattice, time-reversal symmetry is instead spontaneously broken and bosonic integer quantum Hall states with opposite Hall conductances are degenerate. Finally, we propose an optical-lattice-based implementation of our model on a square lattice and discuss prospects for adiabatic preparation as well as effects of Floquet heating.
We propose and analyze two distinct routes toward realizing interacting symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases via periodic driving. First, we demonstrate that a driven transverse-field Ising model can be used to engineer complex interactions which enable the emulation of an equilibrium SPT phase. This phase remains stable only within a parametric time scale controlled by the driving frequency, beyond which its topological features break down. To overcome this issue, we consider an alternate route based upon realizing an intrinsically Floquet SPT phase that does not have any equilibrium a…
Topological phases with a widely tunable number of edge modes have been extensively studied as a typical class of exotic states of matter with potentially important applications. Although several models have been shown to support such phases, they are not easy to realize in solid-state systems due to the complexity of various intervening factors. Inspired by the realization of synthetic spin-orbit coupling in a cold-atom system [Z. Wu {\it et al.}, Science \textbf{354}, 83 (2016)], we propose a periodic quenching scheme to realize large-topological-number phases with multiple edge modes in opt…
We present a theoretical description for a lasing scheme for atoms with three internal levels in a $V$-configuration and interacting with an optical cavity. The use of a $V$-level system allows for an efficient closed lasing cycle to be sustained on a dipole-forbidden transition without the need for incoherent repumping. This is made possible by utilizing an additional dipole-allowed transition. We determine the lasing threshold and emission frequency by performing a stability analysis of the non-lasing solution. In the lasing regime, we use a mean-field Floquet method (MFFM) to calculate the …
In this study, we have studied the quantum tunneling of a single spin-orbit-coupled atom held in a periodically modulated optical lattice with an impurity. At the pseudocollapse points of quasienergy bands, where the dynamical localization takes place globally, two types of local second-order tunneling processes appear beyond expectation between the two nearest-neighbor sites of the impurity with the spin unchanged and with impurity site population negligible all the time, when the impurity potential is far off-resonant with the driving field. Though tunneling behaviors of the two types seem t…
We theoretically investigate the collisional heating of a cold atom system subjected to time-periodic forces. We show within the Floquet framework that this heating rate due to two-body collisions has a general semiclassical expression $\mathcal{P}\propto ρσv_{\rm col} E_0$, depending on the kinetic energy $E_0$ associated with the shaking, particle number density $ρ$, elastic collision cross section $σ$, and an effective collisional velocity $v_{\rm col}$ determined by the dominant energy scale in the system. We further show that the collisional heating is suppressed by Pauli blocking in cold…
Probing disorder-driven topological phase transitions via topological edge modes with ultracold atoms in Floquet-engineered honeycomb lattices
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik(马克斯·普朗克量子光学研究所);Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)(慕尼黑量子科学与技术中心);Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität(慕尼黑大学物理学院)
The realization of synthetic gauge fields has attracted a lot of attention recently in relation with periodically driven systems and the Floquet theory. In ultra-cold atom systems in optical lattices and photonic networks, this allows to simulate exotic phases of matter such as quantum Hall phases, anomalous quantum Hall phases and analogs of topological insulators. In this paper, we apply the Floquet theory to engineer anisotropic Haldane models on the honeycomb lattice and two-leg ladder systems. We show that these anisotropic Haldane models still possess a topologically non-trivial band str…
We demonstrate that a periodically driven quantum system can adopt a quasistationary state which is effectively much colder than a thermal reservoir it is coupled to, in the sense that certain Floquet states of the driven-dissipative system can carry much higher population than the ground state of the corresponding undriven system in thermal equilibrium. This is made possible by a rich Fourier spectrum of the system's Floquet transition matrix elements, the components of which are addressed individually by a suitably peaked reservoir density of states. The effect is expected to be important fo…
The classification of topological Floquet systems with time-periodic Hamiltonians transcends that of static systems. For example, spinless fermions in periodically driven two-dimensional lattices are not completely characterized by the Chern numbers of the quasienergy bands, but rather by a set of winding numbers associated with the quasienergy gaps. We propose a scheme for measuring these winding numbers in a system of fermionic cold atoms in a periodically driven optical lattice efficiently and directly. It is based on the construction of a one-parameter family of experimentally feasible dri…
We introduce a new approach to create and detect Majorana fermions using optically trapped 1D fermionic atoms. In our proposed setup, two internal states of the atoms couple via an optical Raman transition---simultaneously inducing an effective spin-orbit interaction and magnetic field---while a background molecular BEC cloud generates s-wave pairing for the atoms. The resulting cold atom quantum wire supports Majorana fermions at phase boundaries between topologically trivial and nontrivial regions, as well as `Floquet Majorana fermions' when the system is periodically driven. We analyze expe…
We consider a quantum system periodically driven with a strength which varies slowly on the scale of the driving period. The analysis is based on a general formulation of the Floquet theory relying on the extended Hilbert space. It is shown that the dynamics of the system can be described in terms of a slowly varying effective Floquet Hamiltonian that captures the long-term evolution, as well as rapidly oscillating micromotion operators. We obtain a systematic high-frequency expansion of all these operators. Generalizing the previous studies, the expanded effective Hamiltonian is now time-depe…
Exponential decay laws describe systems ranging from unstable nuclei to fluorescent molecules, in which the probability of jumping to a lower-energy state in any given time interval is static and history-independent. These decays, involving only a metastable state and fluctuations of the quantum vacuum, are the most fundamental nonequilibrium process, and provide a microscopic model for the origins of irreversibility. Despite the fact that the apparently universal exponential decay law has been precisely tested in a variety of physical systems, it is a surprising truth that quantum mechanics r…
We review methods for using time-periodic fields (e.g., laser or microwave fields) to induce non-equilibrium topological phenomena in quantum many-body systems. We discuss how such fields can be used to change the topological properties of the single particle spectrum, and key experimental demonstrations in solid state, cold atomic, and photonic systems. The single particle Floquet band structure provides a stage on which the system's dynamics play out; the crucial question is then how to obtain robust topological behaviour in the many-particle setting. In the regime of mesoscopic transport, w…
We propose a `Floquet engineering' formalism to systematically design a periodic driving protocol in order to stroboscopically realize the desired system starting from a given static Hamiltonian. The formalism is applicable to quantum systems which have an underlying closed Lie-algebraic structure, for example, solid-state systems with noninteracting particles moving on a lattice or its variant described by the ultra-cold atoms moving on an optical lattice. Unlike previous attempts at Floquet engineering, our method produces the desired Floquet Hamiltonian at any driving frequency and is not r…
Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev physics from the Hubbard model: A Floquet engineering approach
Universidad Complutense de Madrid(马德里康普顿斯大学);Collège de France(法兰西公学院);CNRS(法国国家科学研究中心);PSL Research University(巴黎文理研究大学);Sorbonne Université(索邦大学);International Solvay Institutes(国际索尔维研究所)
Quantum metrology with ultra-high precision usually requires atoms prepared in an ultra-stable environment with well-defined quantum states. Thus, in optical lattice clock systems deep lattice potentials are used to trap ultra-cold atoms. However, decoherence, induced by Raman scattering and higher order light shifts, can significantly be reduced if atomic clocks are realized in shallow optical lattices. On the other hand, in such lattices, tunneling among different sites can cause additional dephasing and strongly broadening of the Rabi spectrum. Here, in our experiment, we periodically drive…
Though topological aspects of energy bands are known to play a key role in quantum transport in solid-state systems, the implications of Floquet band topology for transport in momentum space (i.e., acceleration) are not explored so far. Using a ratchet accelerator model inspired by existing cold-atom experiments, here we characterize a class of extended Floquet bands of one-dimensional driven quantum systems by Chern numbers, reveal topological phase transitions therein, and theoretically predict the quantization of adiabatic transport in momentum space. Numerical results confirm our theory an…
We study the quantum version of a tilting and flashing Hamiltonian ratchets, consisting of a periodic potential and a time-periodic driving field. The system dynamics is governed by a Floquet evolution matrix bearing the symmetry of the corresponding Hamiltonian. The dc-current appears due to the desymmetrization of Floquet eigenstates, which become transporting when all the relevant symmetries are violated. Those eigenstates which mostly contribute to a directed transport reside in phase space regions corresponding to classical resonances. Quantum dynamics leads to the dependence of the avera…
We propose a scheme to dynamically generate optical flux lattices with nontrivial band topology using amplitude-modulated Raman lasers and radio-frequency (rf) magnetic fields. By tuning the strength of Raman and rf fields, three distinct phases are realized at unit filling for a unit cell. Respectively, these three phases correspond to normal insulator, topological Chern insulator, and semimetal. Nearly nondispersive bands are found to appear in the topological phase, which promises opportunities for investigating strongly correlated quantum states within a simple cold-atom setup. The validit…
We review recent developments concerning non-equilibrium quantum dynamics and many-body physics with light, in superconducting circuits and Josephson analogues. We start with quantum impurity models summarizing the effect of dissipation and of driving the system. We mention theoretical and experimental efforts to characterize these non-equilibrium quantum systems. We show how Josephson junction systems can implement the equivalent of the Kondo effect with microwave photons. The Kondo effect is characterized by a renormalized light-frequency and a peak in the Rayleigh elastic transmission of a …
We address the issue of the validity of linear response theory for a closed quantum system subject to a periodic external driving. Linear response theory (LRT) predicts energy absorption at frequencies of the external driving where the imaginary part of the appropriate response function is different from zero. Here we show that, for a fairly general non-linear many-body system on a lattice subject to an extensive perturbation, this approximation should be expected to be valid only up to a time $t^*$ depending on the strength of the driving, beyond which the true coherent Schrödinger evolution …