# Strong coupling phases of the spin-orbit-coupled spin-1 Bose-Hubbard chain: odd integer Mott lobes and helical magnetic phases

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the effects of spin-orbit coupling on odd integer Mott phases in a spin-1 Bose-Hubbard chain, revealing novel magnetic phases and phase transitions relevant for ultracold atomic experiments.

## Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of spiral magnetic phases and a new universality class of phase transition in a spin-1 chain with spin-orbit coupling, supported by exact and approximate solutions.

## Key findings

- Identification of helical and ferromagnetic order parameters
- Discovery of a novel universality class with specific critical exponents
- Potential experimental realization in ultracold atomic gases

## Abstract

We study the odd integer filled Mott phases of a spin-1 Bose-Hubbard chain and determine their fate in the presence of a Raman induced spin-orbit coupling which has been achieved in ultracold atomic gases; this system is described by a quantum spin-1 chain with a spiral magnetic field. The spiral magnetic field initially induces helical order with either ferromagnetic or dimer order parameters, giving rise to a spiral paramagnet at large field. The spiral ferromagnet-to-paramagnet phase transition is in a novel universality class, with critical exponents associated with the divergence of the correlation length $\nu \approx 2/3$ and the order parameter susceptibility $\gamma \approx 1/2$. We solve the effective spin model exactly using the density matrix renormalization group, and compare with both a large-$S$ classical solution and a phenomenological Landau theory. We discuss how these exotic bosonic magnetic phases can be produced and probed in ultracold atomic experiments in optical lattices.