Mimicking Multiorbital Systems with SU(<i>N</i>) Atoms: Hund’s Physics and Beyond

Abstract

The physics of many interesting correlated materials can be captured by multiorbital Hubbard models, where conduction electrons feature an additional orbital degree of freedom. The multiorbital characteristic is not a mere complication, but it leads to an immensely richer landscape of physical regimes. One of the key features is the interplay between Hubbard repulsion and Hund’s exchange coupling, which has been shown to lead to orbital-selective correlations and to the existence of correlation-resilient metals (usually called Hund’s metals) defying Mott localization. Here, we show that experimentally available platforms of SU(N)-symmetric ultracold atoms can indeed mimic the rich physics disclosed by multiorbital materials, by exploiting the internal degrees of freedom of multicomponent atoms. We discuss in detail the SU(N) version of interaction-resilient Hund’s metal and some other interesting regimes.

Keywords

• SU(<i>N</i>) atoms
• multicomponent systems
• Mott transition
• Hund’s metals