title: Bose-Hubbard models with synthetic spin-orbit coupling: Mott insulators, spin textures, and superfluidity.
abstract: Motivated by the experimental realization of synthetic spin-orbit coupling for ultracold atoms, we investigate the phase diagram of the Bose-Hubbard model in a non-Abelian gauge field in two dimensions. Using a strong coupling expansion in the combined presence of spin-orbit coupling and tunable interactions, we find a variety of interesting magnetic Hamiltonians in the Mott insulator (MI), which support magnetic textures such as spin spirals and vortex and Skyrmion crystals. An inhomogeneous mean-field treatment shows that the superfluid (SF) phases inherit these exotic magnetic orders from the MI and display, in addition, unusual modulated current patterns. We present a slave-boson theory which gives insight into such intertwined spin-charge orders in the SF, and discuss signatures of these orders in Bragg scattering, in situ microscopy, and dynamic quench experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio 43210, USA.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Shizhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paramekanti
authors.forename: Nandini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trivedi