Topological phase transitions in the non-Abelian honeycomb lattice

TL;DR

This paper explores topological phase transitions in non-Abelian honeycomb lattices with ultracold Fermi gases, revealing controllable phenomena linked to massless Dirac fermions and gauge fields, advancing quantum simulation capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized non-Abelian quantum electrodynamics model in honeycomb lattices, demonstrating controllable topological phase transitions with potential experimental realization.

Findings

Identification of topological phase transitions due to fermion pair events

Control mechanisms for phase transitions in optical lattices

Connection between gauge fields and topological properties

Abstract

Ultracold Fermi gases trapped in honeycomb optical lattices provide an intriguing scenario, where relativistic quantum electrodynamics can be tested. Here, we generalize this system to non-Abelian quantum electrodynamics, where massless Dirac fermions interact with effective non-Abelian gauge fields. We show how in this setup a variety of topological phase transitions occur, which arise due to massless fermion pair production events, as well as pair annihilation events of two kinds: spontaneous and strongly-interacting induced. Moreover, such phase transitions can be controlled and characterized in optical lattice experiments.