We propose a simple method to simulate and detect topological insulators with cold atoms trapped in a one-dimensional bichromatic optical lattice subjected to a time-periodic modulation. The tight-binding form of this shaken system is equivalent to the periodically driven Aubry-Andre model. We demonstrate that this model can be mapped into a two-dimensional Chern insulator model, whose energy spectrum hosts a topological phase within an experimentally accessible parameter regime. By tuning the laser phase adiabatically, such one-dimensional system constitutes a natural platform to realize topological particle pumping. We show that the Chern number characterizing the topological features of this system can be measured by detecting the density shift after one cycle of pumping.
Experimental realizations of topological quantum systems and detections of topological invariants in ultracold atomic systems have been a greatly attractive topic. In this work, we propose a scheme to realize topologically different phases in a bichromatic optical lattice subjected to a periodically driven tilt harmonic oscillation, which can be effectively described by a superlattice model with tunable long-range hopping processes. By tuning the ratio of nearest-neighbor (NN) and next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) hopping amplitudes, the system undergoes a topological phase transition accompanied by the change of topological numbers of the lowest band from -1 to 2. Using a slowly time-periodic modulation, the system emerges distinct quantized topological pumped charges (TPCs) of atoms in the filled band for different topological phases. Our scheme is realizable in current cold atomic technique.
We report the experimental realization of a topological Creutz ladder for ultracold fermionic atoms in a resonantly driven 1D optical lattice. The two-leg ladder consists of the two lowest orbital states of the optical lattice and the cross inter-leg links are generated via two-photon resonant coupling between the orbitals by periodic lattice shaking. The characteristic pseudo-spin winding in the topologically non-trivial bands of the ladder system is demonstrated using momentum-resolved Ramsey-type interferometric measurements. We discuss a two-tone driving method to extend the inter-leg link control and propose a topological charge pumping scheme for the Creutz ladder system.
Topological pumping of ultracold atomic gases has recently been demonstrated in two experiments (Nat. Phys. 12, 296; 12, 350 (2016)). Here we study the topological pumping of a single magnon in a dynamically controlled spin-dependent optical superlattice. When the interaction between atoms is strong, this system supports a dynamical version of topological magnon insulator phase. By initially putting a single magnon in the superlattice and slowly varying the dynamical controlled parameter over one period, the shift of the magnon density center is quantized and equal to the topological Chern number. Moreover, we also find that the direction of this quantized shift is entanglement-dependent. Our result provides a route for realizing topological pumping of quasiparticles in strongly correlated ultracold atomic system and for studying the interplay between topological pumping and quantum entanglement.
A single-particle mobility edge (SPME) marks a critical energy separating extended from localized states in a quantum system. In one-dimensional systems with uncorrelated disorder, a SPME cannot exist, since all single-particle states localize for arbitrarily weak disorder strengths. However, if correlations are present in the disorder potential, the localization transition can occur at a finite disorder strength and SPMEs become possible. In this work, we find experimental evidence for the existence of such a SPME in a one-dimensional quasi-periodic optical lattice. Specifically, we find a regime where extended and localized single-particle states coexist, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, which predict a SPME in this regime.
We analyze topological properties of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with a quasiperiodic superlattice potential. This system can be realized in interacting ultracold bosons in optical lattice in the presence of an incommensurate superlattice potential. We first analyze the quasiperiodic superlattice made by the cosine function, which we call Harper-like Bose-Hubbard model. We compute the Chern number and observe a gap-closing behavior as the interaction strength $U$ is changed. Also, we discuss the bulk-edge correspondence in our system. Furthermore, we explore the phase diagram as a function of $U$ and a continuous deformation parameter $beta$ between the Harper-like model and another important quasiperiodic lattice, the Fibonacci model. We numerically confirm that the incommensurate charge density wave (ICDW) phase is topologically non-trivial and it is topologically equivalent in the whole ICDW region.