Funder: Royal Society under the Newton International FellowshipThe implementation of static artificial magnetic fields in ultracold atomic
systems has become a powerful tool, e.g. for simulating quantum-Hall physics
with charge-neutral atoms. Taking an interacting bosonic flux ladder as a
minimal model, we investigate protocols for adiabatic state preparation via
magnetic flux ramps. Considering the fact that it is actually the artificial
vector potential (in the form of Peierls phases) that can be experimentally
engineered in optical lattices, rather than the magnetic field, we find that
the time required for adiabatic state preparation dramatically depends on which
pattern of Peierls phases is used. This can be understood intuitively by noting
that different patterns of time-dependent Peierls phases that all give rise to
the same magnetic field ramp, generally lead to different artificial electric
fields during the ramp. Remarkably, we find that an optimal choice allows for
preparing the ground state almost instantaneously. We relate this observation
to shortcuts to adiabaticity via counterdiabatic driving. Our findings open new
possibilities for robust state preparation in atomic quantum simulators