Spin Hall effects for cold atoms in a light induced gauge potential

ORAL

Abstract

We propose an experimental scheme to observe spin Hall effects with cold atoms in a light induced gauge potential. Under an appropriate configuration, the cold atoms moving in a spatially varying laser field experience an effective spin-dependent gauge potential. Through numerical simulation, we demonstrate that such a gauge field leads to observable spin Hall currents under realistic conditions. We also discuss the quantum spin Hall state in an optical lattice.

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Authors

  • Shi-Liang Zhu

    South China Normal University

  • Hao Fu

    University of Michigan

  • Congjun Wu

    Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA, University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Shou-Cheng Zhang

    Stanford University, Stanford university

  • Luming Duan

    University of Michigan