Magnetic phases of bosons with synthetic spin-orbit coupling in optical lattices

Abstract

We investigate magnetic properties in the superfluid and Mott-insulating states of two-component bosons with spin-orbit (SO) coupling in two-dimensional square optical lattices. The spin-independent hopping integral $t$ and SO coupled one $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ are fitted from band-structure calculations in the continuum, which exhibit oscillations with increasing SO coupling strength. The magnetic superexchange model is derived in the Mott-insulating state with one particle per site, characterized by the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction. In the limit of $|\ensuremath{\lambda}|\ensuremath{\ll}|t|$, we find a spin spiral Mott state whose pitch value is the same as that in the incommensurate superfluid state, while in the opposite limit $|t|\ensuremath{\ll}|\ensuremath{\lambda}|$, the ground state exhibits a $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ in-plane spin pattern.