Realization of 2D Spin-orbit Interaction and Exotic Topological Orders in Cold Atoms

TL;DR

This paper proposes a realistic cold atom setup to generate 2D spin-orbit interactions, enabling the observation of exotic topological orders such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and chiral topological superfluid phases.

Contribution

It introduces a novel scheme for realizing 2D spin-orbit coupling in cold atoms, facilitating experimental exploration of non-Abelian topological orders.

Findings

Prediction of quantum anomalous Hall effect in cold atoms

Identification of chiral topological superfluid phase

Feasible experimental parameters for realization

Abstract

Majorana zero bound mode exists in the vortex core of a chiral $p+ip$ superconductor or superfluid, which can be driven from an s-wave pairing state by two-dimensional (2D) spin-orbit (SO) coupling. We propose here a novel scheme based on realistic cold atom platforms to generate 2D SO interactions in a blue-detuned square optical lattice, and predict both the quantum anomalous Hall effect and chiral topological superfluid phase in the experimentally accessible parameter regimes. This work opens a new direction with experimental feasibility to observe non-Abelian topological orders in cold atom systems.