Two-dimensional topological order of kinetically constrained quantum particles

We investigate how imposing kinetic restrictions on quantum particles that would otherwise hop freely on a two-dimensional lattice can lead to topologically ordered states. The kinetically constrained models introduced here are derived as a generalization of strongly interacting particle systems in which hoppings are given by flux-lattice Hamiltonians and may be relevant to optically driven cold-atom systems. After introducing a broad class of models, we focus on particular realizations and show numerically that they exhibit topological order, as witnessed by topological ground-state degeneracies and the quantization of corresponding invariants. These results demonstrate that the correlations responsible for fractional quantum Hall states in lattices can arise in models involving terms other than density-density interactions.This work was supported in part by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Grant No. EP/G049394/1, the Helmholtz Virtual Institute “New States of Matter and Their Excitations” and the EPSRC NetworkPlus on “Emergence and Physics far from Equilibrium”. S.K. acknowledges financial support by the ICAM Branch Contributions. The authors are grateful to M. Bukov, C. Chamon, N. R. Cooper, M. Daghofer, A. G. Grushin, C. Mudry, T. Neupert, and J. K. Pachos for stimulating discussions.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Physical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.15513

Free coherent spinons in quantum square ice

We investigate the quantum dynamics of monopole-like excitations in quantum square ice, as captured by the strongly anisotropic spin-1/2 XXZ model on the checkerboard lattice. We obtain exact results for excitation dynamics in both analytically solvable effective models and a fully interacting model of quantum square ice on finite clusters. We find that the dispersive lower bound of the dynamic response of freely propagating spinons is recovered in the dynamic structure factor of the interacting system, yielding a marked fingerprint of coherent spinon dispersion. Our results provide unbiased evidence for the formation of coherent quasiparticles propagating freely in the correlated "vacuum" of quantum square ice

Quantum spin liquid at finite temperature: proximate dynamics and persistent typicality

Quantum spin liquids are long-range entangled states of matter with emergent gauge fields and fractionalized excitations. While candidate materials, such as the Kitaev honeycomb ruthenate $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$, show magnetic order at low temperatures $T$, here we demonstrate numerically a dynamical crossover from magnon-like behavior at low $T$ and frequencies $\omega$ to long-lived fractionalized fermionic quasiparticles at higher $T$ and $\omega$. This crossover is akin to the presence of spinon continua in quasi-1D spin chains. It is further shown to go hand in hand with persistent typicality down to very low $T$. This aspect, which has also been observed in the spin-1/2 kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet, is a signature of proximate spin liquidity and emergent gauge degrees of freedom more generally, and can be the basis for the numerical study of many finite-$T$ properties of putative spin liquids.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted versio

Fractional Chern insulator on a triangular lattice of strongly correlated t2gt_{2g} electrons

We discuss the low-energy limit of three-orbital Kondo-lattice and Hubbard models describing $t_{2g}$ orbitals on a triangular lattice near half-filling. We analyze how very flat bands with non-trivial topological character, a Chern number C=1, arise both in the limit of infinite on-site interactions as well as in more realistic regimes. Exact diagonalization is then used to investigate fractional filling of an effective one-band spinless-fermion model including nearest-neighbor interaction $V$; it reveals signatures of fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) for several filling fractions. In addition to indications based on energies, e.g. flux insertion and fractional statistics of quasiholes, Chern numbers are obtained. It is shown that FCIs are robust against disorder in the underlying magnetic texture that defines the topological character of the band. We also investigate competition between FCI states and a charge density wave (CDW) and discuss particle-hole asymmetry as well as Fermi-surface nesting. FCI states turn out to be rather robust and do not require very flat bands, but can also arise when filling or an absence of Fermi-surface nesting disfavor the competing CDW. Nevertheless, very flat bands allow FCI states to be induced by weaker interactions than those needed for more dispersive bands.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Quantum spin liquid at finite temperature: Proximate dynamics and persistent typicality

Quantum spin liquids are long-range entangled states of matter with emergent gauge fields and fractionalized excitations. While candidate materials, such as the Kitaev honeycomb ruthenate α-RuCl3, show magnetic order at low temperatures T , here we demonstrate numerically a dynamical crossover from magnonlike behavior at low T and frequencies ω to long-lived fractionalized fermionic quasiparticles at higher T and ω. This crossover is akin to the presence of spinon continua in quasi-1D spin chains. It is further shown to go hand in hand with persistent typicality down to very low T . This aspect, which has also been observed in the spin-1/2 kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet, is a signature of proximate spin liquidity and emergent gauge degrees of freedom more generally, and can be the basis for the numerical study of many finite-T properties of putative spin liquids

Open-Loop Control of Flexible Manipulator Systems Using Filtered Inputs

This paper presents an investigation into the development of open-loop control strategies for flexible manipulator systems using filtering techniques. Shaped torque inputs, including lowpass and bandstop filtered torque input functions, are developed and used in an open-loop configuration and their performances within a simulation environment characterising a constrained planar single-link flexible manipulator system studied in comparison to a bang-bang torque input. Simulation results verifying the performance of the developed control strategies are presented and discussed

PNAS plus: plasmodium falciparum responds to amino acid starvation by entering into a hibernatory state

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is auxotrophic for most amino acids. Its amino acid needs are met largely through the degradation of host erythrocyte hemoglobin; however the parasite must acquire isoleucine exogenously, because this amino acid is not present in adult human hemoglobin. We report that when isoleucine is withdrawn from the culture medium of intraerythrocytic P. falciparum, the parasite slows its metabolism and progresses through its developmental cycle at a reduced rate. Isoleucine-starved parasites remain viable for 72 h and resume rapid growth upon resupplementation. Protein degradation during starvation is important for maintenance of this hibernatory state. Microarray analysis of starved parasites revealed a 60% decrease in the rate of progression through the normal transcriptional program but no other apparent stress response. Plasmodium parasites do not possess a TOR nutrient-sensing pathway and have only a rudimentary amino acid starvation-sensing eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) stress response. Isoleucine deprivation results in GCN2-mediated phosphorylation of eIF2α, but kinase-knockout clones still are able to hibernate and recover, indicating that this pathway does not directly promote survival during isoleucine starvation. We conclude that P. falciparum, in the absence of canonical eukaryotic nutrient stress-response pathways, can cope with an inconsistent bloodstream amino acid supply by hibernating and waiting for more nutrient to be provided