Trapped Fermi Gases in Rotating Optical Lattices: Realization and Detection of the Topological Hofstadter Insulator

R. O. Umucalılar, Hui Zhai, and M. Ö. Oktel
Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 070402 – Published 19 February 2008

Abstract

We consider a gas of noninteracting spinless fermions in a rotating optical lattice and calculate the density profile of the gas in an external confinement potential. The density profile exhibits distinct plateaus, which correspond to gaps in the single particle spectrum known as the Hofstadter butterfly. The plateaus result from insulating behavior whenever the Fermi energy lies within a gap. We discuss the necessary conditions to realize the Hofstadter insulator in a cold atom setup and show how the quantized Hall conductance can be measured from density profiles using the Středa formula.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 23 November 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.070402

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

R. O. Umucalılar1, Hui Zhai2,3, and M. Ö. Oktel1,*

  • 1Department of Physics, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
  • 2Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
  • 3Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

  • *oktel@fen.bilkent.edu.tr

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 7 — 22 February 2008

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×