We study the Mott phase of three-component bosons, with one particle per site, in an optical lattice by mapping it onto an SU(3) spin model. In the simplest case of full SU(3) symmetry, one obtains a ferromagnetic Heisenberg model. Introducing an SU(3) analog of spin-orbit coupling, additional spin-spin interactions are generated. We first consider the scenario of spin-dependent hopping phases, leading to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-type interactions. They result in the formation of spiral spin textures, which in one dimension can be understood by a local unitary transformation. Applying classical Monte Carlo simulations, we extend our study to two-dimensional systems, and systems with true spin-orbit coupling, involving spin-changing hoppings.
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