1304.0291 (Xiong-Jun Liu et al.)

Realization of 2D Spin-orbit Interaction and Exotic Topological Orders
in Cold Atoms    [PDF]

Xiong-Jun Liu, K. T. Law, T. K. Ng

Majorana zero bound mode exists in the vortex core of a chiral $p+ip$ superconductor or superfluid, which can be driven from an s-wave pairing state by two-dimensional (2D) spin-orbit (SO) coupling. However, a 2D Rashba-type SO interaction is not experimentally realistic in cold atom gases. We propose here a novel scheme based on realistic cold atom platforms to study exotic topological phases in a blue-detuned square optical lattice, and predict both the quantum anomalous Hall effect and chiral topological superfluid phase in the experimentally accessible parameter regimes. This work opens a new direction with remarkable experimental feasibility to observe non-Abelian topological orders in cold atom systems.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.0291