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Detection of topological matter with quantum gases
Author(s) -
Spielman I. B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
annalen der physik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1521-3889
pISSN - 0003-3804
DOI - 10.1002/andp.201300110
Subject(s) - physics , topology (electrical circuits) , quantum hall effect , topological order , quantum , topological degeneracy , fractional quantum hall effect , order (exchange) , topological quantum computer , symmetry protected topological order , signature (topology) , quantum spin hall effect , quantum mechanics , theoretical physics , geometry , mathematics , finance , combinatorics , economics , electron
Creating and measuring topological matter – with non‐local order deeply embedded in the global structure of its quantum mechanical eigenstates – presents unique experimental challenges. Since this order has no signature in local correlation functions, it might seem experimentally inaccessible in any macroscopic system; however, as the precisely quantized Hall plateaux in integer and fractional quantum Hall systems show, topology can have macroscopic signatures at the system's edges. Ultracold atoms provide new experimental platforms where both the intrinsic topology and the edge behavior can be directly measured. This article reviews, using specific examples, how non‐interacting topological matter may be created and measured in quantum gases.