Kavli Affiliate: Long Zhang
| First 5 Authors: Lei Chen, Lei Chen, , ,
| Summary:
A common wisdom about quantum many-body systems is that emergent phases
typically fall into either the Landau-Ginzburg paradigm or topological
classifications. Experimentally realizing the intertwined emergence of
spontaneous symmetry breaking and topological order remains challenging. Here,
we present an experimentally accessible platform for studying magnetic
topological states in a spin-orbit-coupled Lieb lattice. Remarkably, we observe
the coexistence of topological characteristics, quantified by the Chern number
and Bott index, with spontaneous symmetry-breaking orders, such as
ferrimagnetism, in the many-body ground states. Computational analyses
combining dynamical mean-field theory and Hartree-Fock approximations reveal a
pronounced parameter regime where magnetic topological insulators emerge even
under weak interactions. This unconventional phenomenon originates from the
Lieb lattice’s unique band structure, which facilitates the synergy between
interaction-driven symmetry breaking and spin-orbit coupling induced band
inversion. Crucially, spin polarization and spin winding co-emerge as
inherently coupled phenomena due to their shared origin in the same
interacting, spinful atoms. We further propose a specific experimental
implementation scheme for ultracold atoms, utilizing currently available Raman
lattice techniques. Our findings pave the way for exploring the interplay
between symmetry-broken states and topological order in strongly correlated
systems.
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