Experimental realization of a SU(3) color-orbit coupling in an ultracold gas
Spin-orbit interaction couples the spin of a particle to its motion and leads to spin-induced transport phenomena such as spin-Hall effects and Chern insulators. In this work, we extend the concept of internal-external state coupling to higher internal symmetry, exploring features beyond the established spin-orbit regime. We couple suitable resonant laser beams to a gas of ultracold atoms, thereby inducing artificial SU(3) non-Abelian gauge fields that act on a degenerate ground state manifold comprised of three dark states. We demonstrate the inherent all-state connectivity of SU(3) systems by performing targeted geometric transformations. Then, we investigate color-orbit coupling, an extension of SU(2) spin-orbit coupling to SU(3) systems. We reveal a rich dynamical interplay between three distinct oscillation frequencies, which possesses interesting analogies with neutrino oscillations and quark mixing mechanisms. In the future, the system should provide a testbed for further investigation of topological properties of SU(3) systems.
Authors
- Lucas Gabardos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5420-0735)
- Frédéric Chevy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1239-8373)
- Ketan D. Rathod (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3198-3332)
- Christian Miniatura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2508-3896)
- T. Zanon-Willette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5667-9786)
- David Wilkowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4712-9456)
- Chetan Sriram Madasu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4453-080X)
- Chang Chi Kwong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6458-5736)
- Chirantan Mitra
Institutions
- Centre for Quantum Technologies (SG)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Institut Universitaire de France (FR)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure - PSL (FR)
- Bennett University (IN)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- UMI MajuLab (SG)
- Molécule aux Nanos-objets : Réactivité, Interactions et Spectroscopies (FR)
- Institut de Physique de Nice (FR)
- General Atomics (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63142-6
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.49
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Ministry of Education, India
- Institut Universitaire de France
- Bộ Giáo dục và Ðào tạo