Realization of a period-3 coplanar state in one-dimensional spin-orbit coupled optical lattice
Abstract
In ultracold atoms, achieving a period-3 structure poses a significant challenge. In this work, we propose a three-sublattice spin-flop transition mechanism, differing from the two-sublattice counterpart used to explain the emergence of ferrimagnetic orders in higher dimensions. Guided by this mechanism, we design a setup of alkaline-earth-metal atoms to create a spin-orbit coupled optical lattice, where we identify a triplet-fold degenerate YXY state with a period-3 coplanar spin ordering within the deep Mott-insulating phase region of the ground-state phase diagram. The YXY state is protected by a finite gap, and its characteristic angle can be finely tuned by specific setup parameters. Moreover, we use the Rabi spectroscopy technique to detect the YXY state. Our work not only shows the feasibility of achieving a period-3 structure via the new mechanism but also suggests its potential applications for exploring other periodic structures in optical lattices.
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