Experimental realization of a fermionic spin-momentum lattice

Abstract

We experimentally realize a spin-momentum lattice with a homogeneously trapped Fermi gas. The lattice is created via cyclically-rotated atom-laser couplings between three bare atomic spin states, and are such that they form a triangular lattice in a synthetic spin-momentum space. We demonstrate the lattice and explore its dynamics with spin-and momentum-resolved absorption imaging. This platform will provide new opportunities for synthetic spin systems and the engineering of topological bands. In particular, the use of three spin states in two spatial dimensions would allow the simulation of synthetic magnetic fields of high spatial uniformity, which would lead to ultranarrow Chern bands that support robust fractional quantum Hall states.