No abstract

The large practical potential of exotic quantum states is often precluded by their notorious fragility against external perturbations or temperature. Here, we introduce a mechanism stabilizing a one-dimensional quantum many-body phase exploiting an emergent $${{\mathbb{Z}}}_{2}$$ Z 2 -symmetry based on a simple geometrical modification, i.e. a site that couples to all lattice sites. We illustrate this mechanism by constructing the solution of the full quantum many-body problem of hardcore bosons on a wheel geometry, which are known to form Bose-Einstein condensates. The robustness of the condensate against interactions is shown numerically by adding nearest-neighbor interactions, which typically destroy Bose-Einstein condensates. We discuss further applications such as geometrically inducing finite-momentum condensates. Since our solution strategy is based on a generic mapping, our findings are applicable in a broader context, in which a particular state should be protected, by introducing an additional center site.

Strongly interacting fermionic systems host a variety of interesting quantum many-body states with exotic excitations. For instance, the interplay of strong interactions and the Pauli exclusion principle can lead to Stoner ferromagnetism, but the fate of this state remains unclear when kinetic terms are added. While in many lattice models the fermions' dispersion results in delocalization and destabilization of the ferromagnet, flat bands can restore strong interaction effects and ferromagnetic correlations. To reveal this interplay, here we propose to study the Hofstadter-Fermi-Hubbard model using ultracold atoms. We demonstrate, by performing large-scale DMRG simulations, that this model exhibits a lattice analog of the quantum Hall ferromagnet at magnetic filling factor ν=1. We reveal the nature of the low energy spin-singlet states around ν≈1 and find that they host quasi-particles and quasi-holes exhibiting spin-spin correlations reminiscent of skyrmions. Finally, we predict the breakdown of flat-band ferromagnetism at large fields. Our work paves the way towards experimental studies of lattice quantum Hall ferromagnetism, including prospects to study many-body states of interacting skyrmions and explore the relation to high-Tc superconductivity.