Spin-Orbit Coupling and Quantum Spin Hall Effect for Neutral Atoms without Spin Flips

We propose a scheme which realizes spin-orbit coupling and the quantum spin Hall effect for neutral atoms in optical lattices without relying on near resonant laser light to couple different spin states. The spin-orbit coupling is created by modifying the motion of atoms in a spin-dependent way by l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Miyake, Hirokazu, Burton, William Cody, Ketterle, Wolfgang, Kennedy, Colin, Siviloglou, Georgios A.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Physical Society 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/85212
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4126-083X
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6107-1174
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9528-3044
Description
Summary:We propose a scheme which realizes spin-orbit coupling and the quantum spin Hall effect for neutral atoms in optical lattices without relying on near resonant laser light to couple different spin states. The spin-orbit coupling is created by modifying the motion of atoms in a spin-dependent way by laser recoil. The spin selectivity is provided by Zeeman shifts created with a magnetic field gradient. Alternatively, a quantum spin Hall Hamiltonian can be created by all-optical means using a period-tripling, spin-dependent superlattice.