Spiral spin textures of bosonic Mott insulator with SU(3) spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This paper explores how SU(3) spin-orbit coupling in a three-component bosonic Mott insulator leads to spiral spin textures, using theoretical mapping and Monte Carlo simulations to analyze one- and two-dimensional systems.

Contribution

It introduces an SU(3) analog of spin-orbit coupling in bosonic Mott insulators and investigates resulting spiral spin textures through theoretical and computational methods.

Findings

SU(3) spin-orbit coupling induces spiral spin textures.

Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions emerge from spin-dependent hopping phases.

Classical Monte Carlo simulations reveal complex spin configurations in 2D systems.

Abstract

We study the Mott phase of three-component bosons, with one particle per site, in an optical lattice by mapping it onto an SU(3) spin model. In the simplest case of full SU(3) symmetry, one obtains a ferromagnetic Heisenberg model. Introducing an SU(3) analog of spin-orbit coupling, additional spin-spin interactions are generated. We first consider the scenario of spin-dependent hopping phases, leading to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-type interactions. They result in the formation of spiral spin textures, which in one dimension can be understood by a local unitary transformation. Applying classical Monte Carlo simulations, we extend our study to two-dimensional systems, and systems with "true" spin-orbit coupling, involving spin-changing hoppings.