Atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in a twisted-bilayer optical lattice

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum simulation platform using Bose-Einstein condensates in spin-dependent optical lattices to study superfluidity in twisted bilayer systems, mimicking phenomena like superconductivity in twisted-bilayer-graphene.

Contribution

It introduces a controllable atomic system that emulates twisted bilayer lattices, enabling exploration of complex quantum phenomena such as superconductivity and Moiré patterns.

Findings

Direct observation of spatial Moiré pattern.

Detection of atomic superfluidity in bilayer lattices.

Flexible control over inter- and intralayer couplings.

Abstract

Observation of strong correlations and superconductivity in twisted-bilayer-graphene have stimulated tremendous interest in fundamental and applied physics. In this system, the superposition of two twisted honeycomb lattices, generating a Moir$\acute{\mathrm{e}}$ pattern, is the key to the observed flat electronic bands, slow electron velocity and large density of states. Despite these observations, a full understanding of the emerging superconductivity from the coupled insulating layers and the appearance of a small magic angle remain a hot topic of research. Here, we demonstrate a quantum simulation platform to study superfluids in twisted bilayer lattices based on Bose-Einstein condensates loaded into spin-dependent optical lattices. The lattices are made of two sets of laser beams that independently address atoms in different spin states, which form the synthetic dimension of the two layers. The twisted angle of the two lattices is controlled by the relative angle of the laser beams. We show that atoms in each spin state only feel one set of the lattice and the interlayer coupling can be controlled by microwave coupling between the spin states. Our system allows for flexible control of both the inter- and intralayer couplings. Furthermore we directly observe the spatial Moir$\acute{\mathrm{e}}$ pattern and the momentum diffraction, which confirm the presence of atomic superfluid in the bilayer lattices. Our system constitutes a powerful platform to investigate the physics underlying the superconductivity in twisted-bilayer-graphene and to explore other novel quantum phenomena difficult to realize in materials.