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14. June 2018 10:30

Strongly-correlated bosons on a dynamical lattice

David Gonzales
ICFO, The Institute of Photonic Science, Barcelona, Spain

The interplay between particles and lattice degrees of freedom is crucial to understand many paradigmatic phenomena in condensed matter, ranging from polaron physics to superconductivity. The study of these effects using atomic systems, however, remains a challenging task. Quantum simulations with ultracold atoms, in particular, rely on static optical lattices. The particles do not influence the lattice structure and, therefore, the effects of phonons are usually not taken into account.

In this talk, I will present a model of interacting bosons coupled to a set of two-level systems. The latter provides a minimal model to describe a dynamical lattice, and presents relevant phenomena such as a bosonic version of the well known Peierls transition. I will also show other properties of the system, including different types of ordered phases, topological defects and symmetry-protected topological phases. Finally, I will discuss the possibility of realizing the model using ultracold atoms.