Spin-Orbit Coupled Quantum Gases

TL;DR

This review discusses recent experimental and theoretical advances in spin-orbit coupled quantum gases, highlighting how spin-orbit interactions influence many-body phenomena in cold atom systems.

Contribution

It summarizes recent progress in generating synthetic gauge fields and spin-orbit coupling in atomic gases, emphasizing new physical insights and phenomena.

Findings

Spin-orbit coupling enhances interaction effects in quantum gases.

Recent experiments successfully realize synthetic gauge potentials.

Theoretical studies reveal dramatic effects even with weak interactions.

Abstract

In this review we will discuss the experimental and theoretical progresses in studying spin-orbit coupled degenerate atomic gases during the last two years. We shall first review a series of pioneering experiments in generating synthetic gauge potentials and spin-orbit coupling in atomic gases by engineering atom-light interaction. Realization of spin-orbit coupled quantum gases opens a new avenue in cold atom physics, and also brings out a lot of new physical problems. In particular, the interplay between spin-orbit coupling and inter-atomic interaction leads to many intriguing phenomena. Here, by reviewing recent theoretical studies of both interacting bosons and fermions with isotropic Rashba spin-orbit coupling, the key message delivered here is that spin-orbit coupling can enhance the interaction effects, and make the interaction effects much more dramatic even in the weakly interacting regime.