Evolution of magnetic structure driven by synthetic spin-orbit coupling in a two-component Bose-Hubbard model

Abstract

We study the evolution of magnetic structure driven by a synthetic spin-orbit coupling in a one-dimensional two-component Bose-Hubbard model. In addition to the Mott insulator-superfluid transition, we found in Mott insulator phases a transition from a gapped ferromagnetic phase to a gapless chiral phase by increasing the strength of spin-orbit coupling. Further increasing the spin-orbit coupling drives a transition from the gapless chiral phase to a gapped antiferromagnetic phase. These magnetic structures persist in superfluid phases. In particular, in the chiral Mott insulator and chiral superfluid phases, incommensurability is observed in characteristic correlation functions. These unconventional Mott insulator phase and superfluid phase demonstrate the novel effects arising from the competition between the kinetic energy and the spin-orbit coupling.