A discrete time crystal is a remarkable non-equilibrium phase of matter characterized by persistent sub-harmonic response to a periodic drive. Motivated by the question of whether such time-crystalline order can persist when the drive becomes aperiod
ic, we investigate the dynamics of a Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model under quasiperiodic kicking. Intriguingly, this infinite-range-interacting spin chain can exhibit long-lived periodic oscillations when the kicking amplitudes are drawn from the Thue-Morse sequence (TMS). We dub this phase a ``self-ordered time crystal (SOTC), and demonstrate that our model hosts at least two qualitatively distinct prethermal SOTC phases. These SOTCs are robust to various perturbations, and they originate from the interplay of long-range interactions and the recursive structure of the TMS. Our results suggest that quasiperiodic driving protocols can provide a promising route for realizing novel non-equilibrium phases of matter in long-range interacting systems.
Interior gap superfluidity was introduced together with Frank Wilczek. Later on together with our collaborators, we generalized this new possibility of superfluidity to a more broader concept, breach pair superfluidity. In the occasion to celebrate P
rofessor Frank Wilczeks seventieth birthday and his productive career in several major areas in physics, I dedicate this note to recall the exciting times of developing this idea, the main aspects of the proposed phase, and discussion on its stability condition.
Optical lattices are known for their flexibility to emulate condensed matter physics and beyond. Based on an early theoretical proposal [Science Bulletin 65, 2080 (2020)], a recent experiment published by Wang et al. [Science 372, 271 (2021)] accompl
ishes the first experimental realization of topological band structure of the ideal Weyl semimetal in ultracold atomic matter, prompting fundamental interest in the context of gapless topological physics. With a neat design of 3D spin-orbit interaction, the experiment has probed the gapless band topology through spin texture imaging and quantum quench dynamics. This work has far reaching implications to topological effects and quantum anomaly in condensed matter and high energy physics.
Motivated by the question of whether all fast scramblers are holographically dual to quantum gravity, we study the dynamics of a non-integrable spin chain model composed of two ingredients - a nearest neighbor Ising coupling, and an infinite range $X
X$ interaction. Unlike other fast scrambling many-body systems, this model is not known to be dual to a black hole. We quantify the spreading of quantum information using an out-of time-ordered correlator (OTOC), and demonstrate that our model exhibits fast scrambling for a wide parameter regime. Simulation of its quench dynamics finds that the rapid decline of the OTOC is accompanied by a fast growth of the entanglement entropy, as well as a swift change in the magnetization. Finally, potential realizations of our model are proposed in current experimental setups. Our work establishes a promising route to create fast scramblers.
Higher order topological insulators (HOTI) have emerged as a new class of phases, whose robust in-gap corner modes arise from the bulk higher-order multipoles beyond the dipoles in conventional topological insulators. Here, we incorporate Floquet dri
ving into HOTIs, and report for the first time a dynamical polarization theory with anomalous non-equilibrium multipoles. Further, a proposal to detect not only corner states but also their dynamical origin in cold atoms is demonstrated, with the latter one never achieved before. Experimental determination of anomalous Floquet corner modes are also proposed.
We develop a theory of weakly interacting fermionic atoms in shaken optical lattices based on the orbital mixing in the presence of time-periodic modulations. Specifically, we focus on fermionic atoms in circularly shaken square lattice with near res
onance frequencies, i.e., tuned close to the energy separation between $s$-band and the $p$-bands. First, we derive a time-independent four-band effective Hamiltonian in the non-interacting limit. Diagonalization of the effective Hamiltonian yields a quasi-energy spectrum consistent with the full numerical Floquet solution that includes all higher bands. In particular, we find that the hybridized $s$-band develops multiple minima and therefore non-trivial Fermi surfaces at different fillings. We then obtain the effective interactions for atoms in the hybridized $s$-band analytically and show that they acquire momentum dependence on the Fermi surface even though the bare interaction is contact-like. We apply the theory to find the phase diagram of fermions with weak attractive interactions and demonstrate that the pairing symmetry is $s+d$-wave. Our theory is valid for a range of shaking frequencies near resonance, and it can be generalized to other phases of interacting fermions in shaken lattices.
Topological phases like topological insulators or superconductors are fascinating quantum states of matter, featuring novel properties such as emergent chiral edge states or Majorana fermions with non-Abelian braiding statistics. The recent experimen
tal implementation of optical lattices with highly tunable geometry in cold gases opens up a new thrust on exploring these novel quantum states. Here we report that the topological non-trivial Bloch bands can arise naturally in a noncentrosymmetric lattice. It induces a controllable orbital hybridization, producing the topological band structure. In such bands, when considering attractive fermionic atoms, we find a topological Fulde-Ferrell superfluid state with finite center-of-mass momentum in the presence of onsite rotation. This topological superfluid supports Majorana fermions on its edges. Experimental signatures are predicted for cold gases in radio-frequency spectroscopy.
Mott insulators with both spin and orbital degeneracy are pertinent to a large number of transition metal oxides. The intertwined spin and orbital fluctuations can lead to rather exotic phases such as quantum spin-orbital liquids. Here we consider tw
o-component (spin 1/2) fermionic atoms with strong repulsive interactions on the $p$-band of the optical square lattice. We derive the spin-orbital exchange for quarter filling of the $p$-band when the density fluctuations are suppressed, and show it frustrates the development of long range spin order. Exact diagonalization indicates a spin-disordered ground state with ferro-orbital order. The system dynamically decouples into individual Heisenberg spin chains, each realizing a Luttinger liquid accessible at higher temperatures compared to atoms confined to the $s$-band.
We construct the general free energy governing long-wavelength magnetism in two-dimensional oxide heterostructures, which applies irrespective of the microscopic mechanism for magnetism. This leads, in the relevant regime of weak but non-negligible s
pin-orbit coupling, to a rich phase diagram containing in-plane ferromagnetic, spiral, cone, and skyrmion lattice phases, as well as a nematic state stabilized by thermal fluctuations. The general conclusions are vetted by a microscopic derivation for a simple model with Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
We study a quantum ladder of interacting fermions with coupled s and p orbitals. Such a model describes dipolar molecules or atoms loaded into a double-well optical lattice, dipole moments being aligned by an external field. The two orbital component
s have distinct hoppings. The tunneling between them is equivalent to a partial Rashba spin-orbital coupling when the orbital space (s, p) is identified as spanned by pseudo-spin 1/2 states. A rich phase diagram, including incommensurate orbital density wave, pair density wave and other exotic superconducting phases, is proposed with bosonization analysis. In particular, superconductivity is found in the repulsive regime.
