Realization of a period-3 coplanar state in one-dimensional spin-orbit-coupled optical lattices

作     者：Yida Chu Shijie Hu Tao Wang 

作者机构：Department of Physics and Chongqing Key Laboratory for Strongly Coupled Physics Chongqing University Chongqing 401331 China Beijing Computational Science Research Center Beijing 100084 China Center of Modern Physics Institute for Smart City of Chongqing University in Liyang Liyang 213300 China Department of Physics Beijing Normal University Beijing 100875 China State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices Shanxi University Taiyuan 030006 China 

出 版 物：《Physical Review A》 (Phys. Rev. A)

年 卷 期：2025年第111卷第1期

页      面：L011304-L011304页

核心收录：

基　　金：Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, MOST, (2022YFA1402700) National Natural Science Foundation of China, NSFC, (12174020, 12274045, U2230402, 12347101) Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, (2023CDJZYJH-048) National Safety Academic Fund, NSAF, (U1930402) State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, (KF202211) 

主　　题：Crystal lattices 

摘      要：In ultracold atoms, achieving a period-3 structure poses a significant challenge. In this work, we propose a three-sublattice spin-flop transition mechanism, differing from the two-sublattice counterpart used to explain the emergence of ferrimagnetic orders in higher dimensions. Guided by this mechanism, we design a setup of alkaline-earth-metal atoms to create a spin-orbit-coupled optical lattice, where we identify a triplefold degenerate YXY¯ state with a period-3 coplanar spin ordering within the deep Mott-insulating phase region of the ground-state phase diagram. The YXY¯ state is protected by a finite gap, and its characteristic angle can be finely tuned by specific setup parameters. Moreover, we use the Rabi spectroscopy technique to detect the YXY¯ state. Our work not only shows the feasibility of achieving a period-3 structure via the new mechanism but also suggests its potential applications for exploring other periodic structures in optical lattices.