Topological phase transition for a quantum rotor with cold bosonic atoms
2021
We investigate the properties of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of F=1
rubidium 87 atoms in a 2D spin-dependent optical lattice potential generated by
intersecting laser beams with a superposition of polarizations. The Rb atoms
behave as a quantum rotor (QR) with rotor angular momentum given by the sum of
the atomic motion rotational angular momentum around the lattice minima and the
atomic hyperfine spin $F$. Properties of the QR are strongly affected when an
external magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of QR motion is applied. We
observe a topological phase transition as the strength of the external
transverse magnetic field is varied. We determine the spin texture of the QR
BEC. At such a quantum phase transition the symmetry of the ground state
changes. This transition is a result of the interplay between the Zeeman and
rotational-kinetic energies in different eigenstates of the QR as the external
magnetic field is increased.
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