Accessing the topological Mott insulator in cold atom quantum simulators with realistic Rydberg dressing

Quantum Science and Technology, vol. 8, pp. 025018

Abstract

Abstract The interplay between many-body interactions and the kinetic energy gives rise to rich phase diagrams hosting, among others, interaction-induced topological phases. These phases are characterized by both a local order parameter and a global topological invariant, and can exhibit exotic ground states such as self-trapped polarons and interaction-induced edge states. In this work, we investigate a realistic scenario for the quantum simulation of such systems using cold Rydberg-dressed atoms in optical lattices. We consider spinless fermions on a checkerboard lattice, interacting via the tunable-range effective potential induced by the Rydberg dressing. We perform a detailed analysis of the phase diagram at half- and incommensurate fillings, in the mean-field approximation. We furthermore study the stability of the phases with respect to temperature within the mean-field approximation and with respect to quantum fluctuations using the density matrix renormalization group method. Finally, we propose an implementation protocol, and in particular identify attainable regimes of experimental parameters in which the topological properties of the model become accessible. Our work thereby opens a realistic pathway to the outstanding experimental observation of this predicted phase in state-of-the-art cold atom quantum simulators.

Authors 5

1. Lorenzo Cardarelli corresponding Aachen Institute for Quantum Information

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen, Germany

   Peter Grünberg Institute, Theoretical Nanoelectronics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52428 Jülich, Germany

2. Sergi Julià-Farré

   Institute of Photonic Sciences · Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain

3. Maciej Lewenstein

   Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Institute of Photonic Sciences · Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain

   ICREA, Pg. Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain

4. Alexandre Dauphin

   Institute of Photonic Sciences · Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain

5. Markus Michael Müller corresponding Aachen Institute for Quantum Information

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen, Germany

   Peter Grünberg Institute, Theoretical Nanoelectronics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52428 Jülich, Germany