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Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 010403 (2005) [4 pages]

Cold Atoms in Non-Abelian Gauge Potentials: From the Hofstadter "Moth" to Lattice Gauge Theory

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K. Osterloh1, M. Baig2, L. Santos3, P. Zoller4, and M. Lewenstein1,5,*
1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hannover, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
2IFAE, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
3Institut für Theoretische Physik III, Universität Stuttgart, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany
4Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
5ICFO—Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Received 3 March 2005; published 28 June 2005

We demonstrate how to create artificial external non-Abelian gauge potentials acting on cold atoms in optical lattices. The method employs atoms with k internal states, and laser assisted state sensitive tunneling, described by unitary k×k matrices. The single-particle dynamics in the case of intense U(2) vector potentials lead to a generalized Hofstadter butterfly spectrum which shows a complex mothlike structure. We discuss the possibility to realize non-Abelian interferometry (Aharonov-Bohm effect) and to study many-body dynamics of ultracold matter in external lattice gauge fields.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.010403
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.010403
PACS:
03.75.Lm, 03.75.Mn, 03.75.Ss, 11.15.Ha

*Also at Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats.

 
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