Realization of a Density-Dependent Peierls Phase in a Synthetic, Spin-Orbit Coupled Rydberg System

We experimentally realize a Peierls phase in the hopping amplitude of excitations carried by Rydberg atoms, and observe the resulting characteristic chiral motion in a minimal setup of three sites. Our demonstration relies on the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling of the dipolar exchange interaction comb...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review. X Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 021031
Main Authors Lienhard, Vincent, Scholl, Pascal, Weber, Sebastian, Barredo, Daniel, de Léséleuc, Sylvain, Bai, Rukmani, Lang, Nicolai, Fleischhauer, Michael, Büchler, Hans Peter, Lahaye, Thierry, Browaeys, Antoine
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published College Park American Physical Society 08.05.2020
Subjects
Amplitudes
Arrays
Atomic Physics
Atoms & subatomic particles
Bosons
Broken symmetry
Density
Excitation
Fermions
Magnetic fields
Occupancy
Physics
Simulation
Spin-orbit interactions
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We experimentally realize a Peierls phase in the hopping amplitude of excitations carried by Rydberg atoms, and observe the resulting characteristic chiral motion in a minimal setup of three sites. Our demonstration relies on the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling of the dipolar exchange interaction combined with time-reversal symmetry breaking by a homogeneous external magnetic field. Remarkably, the phase of the hopping amplitude between two sites strongly depends on the occupancy of the third site, thus leading to a correlated hopping associated with a density-dependent Peierls phase. We experimentally observe this density-dependent hopping and show that the excitations behave as anyonic particles with a nontrivial phase under exchange. Finally, we confirm the dependence of the Peierls phase on the geometrical arrangement of the Rydberg atoms.
ISSN:2160-3308
2160-3308
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevX.10.021031