Topological chiral currents in the Gross-Neveu model extension

Abstract

We unveil an interesting connection of Lorentz-violating quantum field theories, studied in the context of the standard model extension, and Hubbard-type models of topological crystalline phases. These models can be interpreted as a regularisation of the former and, as hereby discussed, explored with current quantum simulators based on ultra-cold atoms in optical Raman lattices. In particular, we present a complete analysis of the Creutz-Hubbard ladder under a generic magnetic flux, which regularises a Gross-Neveu model extension, and presents a characteristic circulating chiral current whose non-zero value arises from a specific violation of Lorentz invariance. We present a complete phase diagram with trivial insulators, ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic phases, and current-carrying topological crystalline phases. These predictions are benchmarked using tools from condensed matter and quantum-information science, showing that self-consistent Hartree-Fock and strong-coupling Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya methods capture the essence of the phase diagram in different regimes, which is further explored using extensive numerical simulations based on matrix-product states.