English

Experimental engineering of Floquet topological phases in a one-dimensional optical lattice

Quantum Gases 2026-04-08 v2

Abstract

Periodic driving enables realization of topological phases without static counterparts. We experimentally realize and detect a one-dimensional anomalous Floquet topological phase in an optical lattice, using multi-frequency control to manipulate the relative sign structure of the gap windings (W0,Wπ)(W_0,W_\pi) associated with the 00 and π\pi quasienergy gaps. We develop a lattice-depth modulation scheme that induces staggered nearest-neighbor ss-pp orbital couplings and realize a minimal nontrivial Floquet topology under single-tone driving. Introducing a second tone, its relative phase controls the effective coupling signs in the 00 and π\pi gaps, thereby tuning the corresponding windings to add and produce a high-winding phase or to cancel while retaining nontrivial gap indices. We read out (W0,Wπ)(W_0,W_\pi) with a band-inversion-surface (BIS)-resolved Ramsey protocol assisted by lattice-position shaking, which measures relative Floquet phases on the BISs. Controlled quenches further confirm phase-dependent band modifications even at quasimomenta far from resonance. These results establish multi-frequency control with a tunable relative phase as a quantitative route to engineering anomalous Floquet topology, and demonstrate phase-coherent coexistence of distinct drive modalities.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.01760,
  title  = {Experimental engineering of Floquet topological phases in a one-dimensional optical lattice},
  author = {Pengju Zhao and Yudong Wei and Zhongshu Hu and Shengjie Jin and Xuzong Chen and Xiong-jun Liu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.01760},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 7 figures; minor errors corrected