Atomic Quantum Simulation of Lattice Gauge-Higgs Model: Higgs Couplings and Emergence of Exact Local Gauge Symmetry

TL;DR

This paper investigates how cold atom systems can simulate U(1) gauge-Higgs models with relaxed fine-tuning, revealing the emergence of local gauge symmetry and analyzing phase structures relevant to early universe physics.

Contribution

It demonstrates that cold atom systems can faithfully simulate gauge-Higgs models even without perfect fine-tuning, highlighting the emergence of gauge invariance and phase characteristics.

Findings

Wide variety of cold atoms can simulate gauge-Higgs models.

Emergence of exact local gauge symmetry despite parameter relaxation.

Phase structure analysis via Monte Carlo simulation.

Abstract

Recently, the possibility of quantum simulation of dynamical gauge fields was pointed out by using a system of cold atoms trapped on each link in an optical lattice. However, to implement exact local gauge invariance, fine-tuning the interaction parameters among atoms is necessary. In the present paper, we study the effect of violation of the U(1) local gauge invariance by relaxing the fine-tuning of the parameters and showing that a wide variety of cold atoms is still to be a faithful quantum simulator for a U(1) gauge-Higgs model containing a Higgs field sitting on sites. Clarification of the dynamics of this gauge-Higgs model sheds some lights upon various unsolved problems including the inflation process of the early universe. We study the phase structure of this model by Monte Carlo simulation, and also discuss the atomic characteristics of the Higgs phase in each simulator.