Visualizing edge states with an atomic Bose gas in the quantum Hall regime

2015/02/09 by B. K. Stuhl, Benjamin Stuhl, H. -I Lu +6 · 614 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Excited state #Hexagonal lattice #Lattice (music) #Magnetic field #Magnetic flux #Optical lattice #Physics #Quantum Hall effect #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Quantum mechanics #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.quant-gas #physics.atom-ph #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.aaa8515

published in Science 349(6255), 1514-1518 (American Association for the Advancement of Science) · 14 pages, 4 figures

arxiv created 2015/02/09 · openalex publication_date 2015/09/24 · arxiv updated 2015/10/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Bringing ultracold atomic gases into the quantum Hall regime is challenging. We engineered an effective magnetic field in a two-dimensional lattice with an elongated-strip geometry, consisting of the sites of an optical lattice in the long direction and of three internal atomic spin states in the short direction. We imaged the localized states of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates in this strip; via excitation dynamics, we further observed both the skipping orbits of excited atoms traveling down the system's edges, analogous to edge magnetoplasmons in two-dimensional electron systems, and a dynamical Hall effect for bulk excitations. Our technique involves minimal heating, which will be important for spectroscopic measurements of the Hofstadter butterfly and realizations of Laughlin's charge pump.

Citations

• Imaging topological edge states in silicon photonics
• Quantized Hall Conductance in a Two-Dimensional Periodic Potential
• Dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices
• Realization of the Hofstadter Hamiltonian with Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices
• Topological Insulators
• Measuring the Chern number of Hofstadter bands with ultracold bosonic atoms

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