Chiral edge dynamics and quantum Hall physics in synthetic dimensions with an atomic erbium Bose-Einstein condensate

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the observation of chiral edge currents and topological Hall physics in a synthetic dimension system using erbium Bose-Einstein condensates, revealing edge dynamics and topological properties.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of chiral edge currents and topological Hall physics in a synthetic dimension system with cold atoms, using erbium BECs.

Findings

Observation of chiral edge currents in synthetic dimensions

Verification of topological properties via local Chern marker

Detection of cyclotron and skipping orbits in the system

Abstract

Quantum Hall physics is at the heart of research on both matter and artificial systems, such as cold atomic gases, with non-trivial topological order. We report on the observation of a chiral edge current by transferring atomic wavepackets simultaneously to opposite edges of a synthetic Hall system realized in the two-dimensional state space formed by one spatial and one synthetic dimension encoded in the J=6 electronic spin of erbium atoms. To characterize the system, the Hall drift of the employed atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in the lowest Landau-like level is determined. The topological properties are verified by determining the local Chern marker, and upon performing low-lying excitations both cyclotron and skipping orbits are observed in the bulk and edges respectively. Future prospects include studies of novel topological phases in cold atom systems.