Minimum instances of topological matter in an optical plaquette

TL;DR

This paper proposes experimental methods to realize and detect minimal topologically ordered states, including anyonic excitations, in optical lattice plaquettes, advancing the study of topological matter with existing atomic techniques.

Contribution

It introduces schemes for creating, probing, and manipulating minimal topological states and anyons in optical lattices, including a novel approach to implement plaquette ring-exchange interactions.

Findings

Proposed experimental schemes for topological states in optical plaquettes

Methods to create and detect anyonic excitations and fractional statistics

Design of a plaquette ring-exchange interaction as a building block for topological models

Abstract

We propose experimental schemes to create and probe minimum forms of different topologically ordered states in a plaquette of an optical lattice: Resonating Valence Bond, Laughlin and string-net condensed states. We show how to create anyonic excitations on top of these liquids and detect their fractional statistics. In addition, we propose a way to design a plaquette ring-exchange interaction, the building block Hamiltonian of a lattice topological theory. Our preparation and detection schemes combine different techniques already demonstrated in experiments with atoms in optical superlattices.