Simulation and detection of Dirac fermions with cold atoms in an optical lattice

Abstract

We propose an experimental scheme to simulate and observe relativistic Dirac fermions with cold atoms in a hexagonal optical lattice. By controlling the lattice anisotropy, one can realize both massive and massless Dirac fermions and observe the phase transition between them. Through explicit calculations, we show that both the Bragg spectroscopy and the atomic density profile in a trap can be used to demonstrate the Dirac fermions and the associated phase transition.

4 pages; Published version

References in corpus (8)

• Chiral tunneling and the Klein paradox in graphene
• Unconventional Integer Quantum Hall effect in graphene
• Non-Abelian gauge potentials for ultra-cold atoms with degenerate dark states
• Observation of Phase Separation in a Strongly-Interacting Imbalanced Fermi Gas
• Phase analysis of quantum oscillations in graphite
• Spin Hall effects for cold atoms in a light induced gauge potential
• BCS-BEC crossover on the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice
• Phase diagram of a polarized Fermi gas across a Feshbach resonance in a potential trap

Cited by in corpus (17)

• Tilted anisotropic Dirac cones in quinoid-type graphene and alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2I_3
• Merging of Dirac points in a two-dimensional crystal
• The $p_{x,y}$-orbital counterpart of graphene: cold atoms in the honeycomb optical lattice
• Observing Zitterbewegung in Ultracold Atoms
• Non-Abelian optical lattices: Anomalous quantum Hall effect and Dirac Fermions
• Dirac-point engineering and topological phase transitions in honeycomb optical lattices
• Making Massless Dirac Fermions from Patterned Two-Dimensional Electron Gases
• Realizing and Detecting the Haldane's Quantum Hall effect with Ultracold Atoms
• Ultracold Fermions in a Graphene-Type Optical Lattice
• Quasi-relativistic behavior of cold atoms in light fields
• Electron fractionalization for two-dimensional Dirac fermions
• Massless Dirac Fermions in a Square Optical Lattice
• Delocalization of relativistic Dirac particles in disordered one-dimensional systems and its implementation with cold atoms
• Two-Dimensional Electron Gas with Cold Atoms in Non-Abelian Gauge Potentials
• Manipulating atoms in an optical lattice: Fractional fermion number and its optical quantum measurement
• Cold Fermi atomic gases in a pumped optical resonator
• Zero modes, energy gap, and edge states of anisotropic honeycomb lattice in a magnetic field