Spin-orbital-angular-momentum-coupled quantum gases

Abstract

We briefly review the recent progress of theories and experiments on spin-orbital-angular-momentum (SOAM)-coupled quantum gases. The coupling between the intrinsic degree of freedom of particles and their external orbital motions widely exists in the universe and leads to a broad variety of fundamental phenomena in both classical physics and quantum mechanics. The recent realization of synthetic SOAM coupling in cold atoms has attracted a great deal of attention and stimulated a large amount of considerations on exotic quantum phases in both Bose and Fermi gases. In this review, we present a basic idea of engineering SOAM coupling in neutral atoms, starting from a semiclassical description of atom-light interaction. Unique features of single-particle physics in the presence of SOAM coupling are discussed. The intriguing ground-state quantum phases of weakly interacting Bose gases are introduced, with emphasis on a so-called angular stripe phase, which has not yet been observed at present. It is demonstrated how to generate a stable giant vortex in a SOAM-coupled Fermi superfluid. We also discuss the topological characters of a Fermi superfluid in the presence of SOAM coupling. We then introduce the experimental achievement of SOAM coupling in ^{87}Rb Bose gases and its first observation of phase transitions. The most recent development of SOAM-coupled Bose gases in experiments is also summarized. Regarding the controllability of ultracold quantum gases, it opens a new era, from the quantum simulation point of view, to study the fundamental physics resulting from SOAM coupling as well as newly emergent quantum phases.