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Methods for detecting charge fractionalization and winding numbers in an interacting fermionic ladder

par Mazza, Leonardo;Aidelsburger, Monika;Tu, Hong-Hao;Goldman, Nathan ;Burrello, Michele
Référence New journal of physics, 17, page (105001)
Publication Publié, 2015

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

We consider a spin-1/2 fermionic ladder with spin-orbit coupling and a perpendicular magnetic field, which shares important similarities with topological superconducting wires. We fully characterize the symmetry-protected topological phase of this ladder through the identification of fractionalized edge modes and non-trivial spin winding numbers. We propose an experimental scheme to engineer such a ladder system with cold atoms in optical lattices, and we present two protocols that can be used to extract the topological signatures from density and momentum-distribution measurements. We then consider the presence of interactions and discuss the effects of a contact on-site repulsion on the topological phase. We find that such interactions could enhance the extension of the topological phase in certain parameters regimes.