Realizing topological relativistic dynamics with slow light polaritons at room temperature

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a room-temperature quantum simulation of relativistic and topological physics using slow light polaritons in rubidium vapor, successfully implementing the Jackiw-Rebbi model and probing topologically protected modes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel room-temperature platform for simulating complex relativistic and topological phenomena with slow light polaritons, including the first implementation of the Jackiw-Rebbi model in such a system.

Findings

Realized the Jackiw-Rebbi topological model with slow light polaritons.

Observed topologically protected zero-energy modes.

Demonstrated emulation of Dirac spinor dynamics in a room-temperature setup.

Abstract

Here we use a slow light quantum light-matter interface at room temperature to implement an analog simulator of complex relativistic and topological physics. We have realized the famous Jackiw-Rebbi model (JR), the celebrated first example where relativity meets topology. Our system is based upon interacting dark state polaritons (DSP's) created by storing light in a rubidium vapor using a dual-tripod atomic system. The DSP's temporal evolution emulates the physics of Dirac spinors and is engineered to follow the JR regime by using a linear magnetic field gradient. We also probe the obtained topologically protected zero-energy mode by analyzing the time correlations between the spinor components. Our implementation paves the way towards quantum simulation of more complex phenomena involving many quantum relativistic particles.