Observation of microscopic confinement dynamics by a tunable topological ?-angle
Year: 2025
Authors: Zhang W.Y., Liu Y., Cheng Y.T., He M.G., Wang H.Y., Wang T.Y., Zhu ZH., Su GX., Zhou Z.Y., Zheng Y.G., Sun H., Yang B., Hauke P., Zheng W., Halimeh J.C., Yuan Z.S., Pan J.W.
Autors Affiliation: Univ Sci & Technol China, Hefei Natl Res Ctr Phys Sci Microscale, Hefei, Peoples R China; Univ Sci & Technol China, Sch Phys Sci, Hefei, Peoples R China; Univ Sci & Technol Beijing, Inst Theoret Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China; Univ Sci & Technol Beijing, Dept Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China; Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Phys, Shenzhen, Peoples R China; Univ Trento, CNR, INO, BEC Ctr, Trento, Italy; Univ Trento, Dept Phys, Trento, Italy; Trento Inst Fundamental Phys & Applicat, INFN, TIFPA, Trento, Italy; Univ Sci & Technol China, CAS Ctr Excellence Quantum Informat & Quantum Phys, Hefei, Peoples R China; Univ Sci & Technol China, Hefei Natl Lab, Hefei, Peoples R China; Max Planck Inst Quantum Opt, Garching, Germany; Ludwig Maximilians Univ Munchen, Dept Phys, Munich, Germany; Ludwig Maximilians Univ Munchen, Arnold Sommerfeld Ctr Theoret Phys ASC, Munich, Germany; Munich Ctr Quantum Sci & Technol MCQST, Munich, Germany.
Abstract: The topological theta-angle is central to several gauge theories in condensed-matter and high-energy physics. For example, it is responsible for the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics and can emerge in effective theories of electrodynamics in topological insulators. Although analogue quantum simulators potentially offer a venue for realizing and controlling the theta-angle, doing so has hitherto remained an outstanding challenge. Here, we describe the experimental realization of a tunable topological theta-angle in a Bose-Hubbard gauge-theory quantum simulator, which was implemented through a tilted superlattice potential that induces an effective background electric field. We demonstrate the emerging physics through the direct observation of the confinement-deconfinement transition of (1 + 1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics. Using an atomic-precision quantum gas microscope, we distinguish between the confined and deconfined phases by monitoring the real-time evolution of particle-antiparticle pairs. Our work provides a step forward in the realization of topological terms on modern quantum simulators.
Journal/Review: NATURE PHYSICS
Volume: 21 (1) Pages from: to:
More Information: We thank H. Zhai for discussions. This work was supported by the NNSFC (Grant No. 12125409), the Innovation Programme for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021ZD0302000) and an Anhui Provincial Major Science and Technology Project (Grant No. 202103a13010005). W.-Y.Z. acknowledges support from the Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme of CPSF (Grant No. GZC20241659). Y.C. acknowledges support from the NSFC (Grant Nos. 12204034 and 12374251) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. FRFTP-22-101A1). J.C.H. acknowledges funding by the Max Planck Society, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy – EXC-2111 – 390814868, and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 101165667)-ERC Starting Grant QuSiGauge. B.Y. acknowledges the National Key R&D Programme of China (Grant No. 2022YFA1405800), the NNSFC (Grant No. 12274199) and a Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (Grant No. 2023B0303000011). W.Z. acknowledges support from the NSFC (Grant Nos. GG2030007011 and GG2030040453) and the Innovation Programme for Quantum Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021ZD0302004). P.H. acknowledges funding from the European Union through the HE research and innovation programme (Grant No. GA 101080086 NeQST) and the Next Generation EU, Mission 4 Component 2 (Grant No. CUP E53D23002240006), from the Italian Ministry of University and Research through Project FARE DAVNE (G R20PEX7Y3A) and Project DYNAMITE QUANTERA2_00056 ERANET, which were co-funded by the European Union H2020 (GA 101017733) and from the ICSC – Centro Nazionale di Ricerca in HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing, the Provincia Autonoma di Trento and Q@TN. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting authorities.KeyWords: Lattice Gauge-theory; Quantum; Invariance; FieldDOI: 10.1038/s41567-024-02702-xCitations: 2data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2025-03-09References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)
