Floquet approach to Z(2) lattice gauge theories with ultracold atoms in optical lattices

Schweizer, Christian; Grusdt, Fabian; Berngruber, Moritz; Barbiero, Luca; Demler, Eugene; Goldman, Nathan; Bloch, Immanuel und Aidelsburger, Monika (2019): Floquet approach to Z(2) lattice gauge theories with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. In: Nature Physics, Vol. 15, No. 11: pp. 1168-1173

Abstract

Quantum simulation has the potential to investigate gauge theories in strongly interacting regimes, which are currently inaccessible through conventional numerical techniques. Here, we take a first step in this direction by implementing a Floquet-based method for studying Z(2) I lattice gauge theories using two-component ultracold atoms in a double-well potential. For resonant periodic driving at the on-site interaction strength and an appropriate choice of the modulation parameters, the effective Floquet Hamiltonian exhibits Z(2) I symmetry. We study the dynamics of the system for different initial states and critically contrast the observed evolution with a theoretical analysis of the full time-dependent Hamiltonian of the periodically driven lattice model. We reveal challenges that arise due to symmetry-breaking terms and outline potential pathways to overcome these limitations. Our results provide important insights for future studies of lattice gauge theories based on Floquet techniques.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Physics
• Subjects: 500 Science > 530 Physics
• ISSN: 1745-2473
• Language: English