Ultra-cold dipolar spinor fermions in zig-zag type optical lattices can mimic spin-orbital models relevant in solid-state systems, as transition-metal oxides with partially filled d-levels, with the interesting advantage of reviving the quantum nature of orbital fluctuations. We discuss two different physical systems in which these models may be simulated, showing that the interplay between lattice geometry and spin-orbital quantum dynamics produces a wealth of novel quantum phases.
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