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Realizing the Harper Hamiltonian with Laser-Assisted Tunneling in Optical Lattices

Hirokazu Miyake, Georgios A. Siviloglou, Colin J. Kennedy, William Cody Burton, and Wolfgang Ketterle
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185302 – Published 28 October 2013; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 199903 (2013)
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Looking for Hofstadter’s Butterfly in Cold Atoms
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Abstract

We experimentally implement the Harper Hamiltonian for neutral particles in optical lattices using laser-assisted tunneling and a potential energy gradient provided by gravity or magnetic field gradients. This Hamiltonian describes the motion of charged particles in strong magnetic fields. Laser-assisted tunneling processes are characterized by studying the expansion of the atoms in the lattice. The band structure of this Hamiltonian should display Hofstadter’s butterfly. For fermions, this scheme should realize the quantum Hall effect and chiral edge states.

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  • Received 6 August 2013
  • Publisher error corrected 28 October 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.185302

© 2013 American Physical Society

Corrections

28 October 2013

Erratum

Publisher’s Note: Realizing the Harper Hamiltonian with Laser-Assisted Tunneling in Optical Lattices [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185302 (2013)]

Hirokazu Miyake, Georgios A. Siviloglou, Colin J. Kennedy, William Cody Burton, and Wolfgang Ketterle
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 199903 (2013)

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Looking for Hofstadter’s Butterfly in Cold Atoms

Published 28 October 2013

Two research groups have engineered an optical lattice of atoms that mimic the behavior of electrons moving in a crystal and a strong magnetic field.

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Authors & Affiliations

Hirokazu Miyake, Georgios A. Siviloglou, Colin J. Kennedy, William Cody Burton, and Wolfgang Ketterle

  • Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

See Also

Realization of the Hofstadter Hamiltonian with Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices

M. Aidelsburger, M. Atala, M. Lohse, J. T. Barreiro, B. Paredes, and I. Bloch
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 185301 (2013)

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Issue

Vol. 111, Iss. 18 — 1 November 2013

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