Systems of Rydberg atoms to realize Bosonic Topological Insulators

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The main goal in this project is to realize artificial topological matter in 2d arrays of individual Rydberg atoms, and in particular to strive for bosonic fractional quantum Hall states. The topological properties of the system will be realized by using the specific properties of the resonant dipole-dipole interaction between Rydberg atoms. This interaction gives rise to the hopping of excitations from one atom to another, and allows one to map the system onto bosonic particles tunneling from one site to another in a periodic lattice. Moreover, since a Rydberg atom can accommodate at most one excitation, the corresponding system of atoms actually maps onto a system of hard core-bosons, i.e. bosons with infinitely repulsive onsite interactions. This allows us to investigating topological properties in the presence of strong interactions, which is the real challenge question in the field, and therefore exploring physics beyond the single-particle regime. We are aiming in particular at the first realization of bosonic fractional topological insulators, i.e. the bosonic analogue of fractional quantum Hall states. The project will be a joint effort between an experimental team at the Institut d’Optique (France), led by Antoine Browaeys, and the theory group of Hans Peter Büchler at the University of Stuttgart (Germany). This collaboration is already operating and has led recently to a major breakthrough in the field of topology with the first realization of a symmetry protected topological bosonic phase in a one-dimensional chain of Rydberg atoms. The RyBoTIn project builds on this achievement, which establishes the Rydberg platform as one of the most promising one to investigate artificial topological state of matter in the strongly correlated regime.