Synthetic gauge fields: from topology to the Unruh effect (A. Celi)

  • Datum: 30.03.2017
  • Uhrzeit: 14:00 - 15:00
  • Vortragende(r): Alessio Celi
  • ICFO The Institute of Photonic Sciences
  • Raum: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
  • Gastgeber: MPQ, Theory Division
The theoretical and experimental progress in quantum simulation with ultracold atoms of the last decay have pushed the realm of simulable models well deep into condensed matter and has started touching high-energy and gravitational physics.

In this talk, I will focus on the possibilities opened by synthetic gauge fields. In the first part, after a brief review of "synthetic dimension" idea, I will discuss in which sense and to what extend a narrow Hofstadter model, as for instance obtained with synthetic lattices, displays the topological properties of a large 2D system pierced by the same flux. In particular, I will show that such narrow systems allow for a surprising accurate measurement of the Chern number through an appropriate Laughlin pump experiment.

In the second part of the talk I will move to an apparently unrelated subject, the simulation of Dirac fermions in artificial curved spacetime. In fact, I will show that such simulation can be achieved through laser assisted tunneling and synthetic gauge fields. As an application, I will present our recent proposal for observing the Unruh effect with ultracold atoms.


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