Bosonic fractional quantum Hall states in driven optical lattices

Abstract

Strong synthetic magnetic fields have been successfully implemented in periodically driven optical lattices. However, the interplay of the driving and interactions introduces detrimental heating, and for this reason it is still challenging to reach a fractional quantum Hall state in cold-atom setup. By performing a numerical study, we investigate stability of a bosonic Laughlin state in a small atomic sample exposed to driving. We identify an optimal regime of microscopic parameters, in particular interaction strength $U$ and the driving frequency $ω$, such that the stroboscopic dynamics supports the basic $ν= 1/2$ Laughlin state. Moreover, we explore slow ramping of a driving term and show that the considered protocol allows for the preparation of the Laughlin state on experimentally realistic time scales.