Chiral edge dynamics and quantum Hall physics in synthetic dimensions with an atomic erbium Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

Quantum Hall physics is at the heart of research on both matter and artificial systems, such as cold atomic gases, with non-trivial topological order. We report on the observation of a chiral edge current by transferring atomic wavepackets simultaneously to opposite edges of a synthetic Hall system realized in the two-dimensional state space formed by one spatial and one synthetic dimension encoded in the J=6 electronic spin of erbium atoms. To characterize the system, the Hall drift of the employed atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in the lowest Landau-like level is determined. The topological properties are verified by determining the local Chern marker, and upon performing low-lying excitations both cyclotron and skipping orbits are observed in the bulk and edges respectively. Future prospects include studies of novel topological phases in cold atom systems.