Topological Phases of Dipolar Particles in Elongated Wannier Orbitals

Kai Sun, Erhai Zhao, and W. Vincent Liu
Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 165303 – Published 23 April 2010

Abstract

We show that topological phases with fractional excitations can occur in two-dimensional ultracold dipolar gases on a particular class of optical lattices. Because of the dipolar interaction and lattice confinement, a quantum dimer model emerges naturally as the effective theory describing the low-energy behaviors of these systems under well-controlled approximations. The desired hierarchy of interaction energy scales is achieved by controlling the anisotropy of the orbital dimers and the dipole moments of particles. Experimental realization and detection of various phases are discussed, as well as the possible relevance for quantum computation.

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  • Received 3 August 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.165303

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Kai Sun1,2, Erhai Zhao3,4, and W. Vincent Liu4,5

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
  • 2Joint Quantum Institute and Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
  • 5Center for Cold Atom Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China

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Issue

Vol. 104, Iss. 16 — 23 April 2010

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