Ferromagnetic spin-orbital liquid of dipolar fermions in zigzag lattices

Abstract

Two-component dipolar fermions in zigzag optical lattices allow for the engineering of spin-orbital models. We show that dipolar lattice fermions permit the exploration of a regime typically unavailable in solid-state compounds that is characterized by a novel spin-liquid phase with a finite magnetization and spontaneously broken SU(2) symmetry. This peculiar spin liquid may be understood as a Luttinger liquid of composite particles consisting of bound states of spin waves and orbital domain walls moving in an unsaturated ferromagnetic background. In addition, we show that the system exhibits a boundary phase transitions involving non-local entanglement of edge spins.

5 pages, 6 figures