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. 2016 May 27;352(6289):1094-7.
doi: 10.1126/science.aad5812.

Bloch state tomography using Wilson lines

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Free article

Bloch state tomography using Wilson lines

Tracy Li et al. Science. .
Free article

Abstract

Topology and geometry are essential to our understanding of modern physics, underlying many foundational concepts from high-energy theories, quantum information, and condensed-matter physics. In condensed-matter systems, a wide range of phenomena stem from the geometry of the band eigenstates, which is encoded in the matrix-valued Wilson line for general multiband systems. Using an ultracold gas of rubidium atoms loaded in a honeycomb optical lattice, we realize strong-force dynamics in Bloch bands that are described by Wilson lines and observe an evolution in the band populations that directly reveals the band geometry. Our technique enables a full determination of band eigenstates, Berry curvature, and topological invariants, including single- and multiband Chern and Z₂ numbers.

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