An Aharonov-Bohm interferometer for determining Bloch band topology

Abstract

Nailing down graphene's topology An electron traveling along a closed path in the momentum space of the graphene crystal lattice may not end up exactly the way it started. If its path happens to include one of the special points in momentum space, it will acquire a phase shift. Physicists can detect the signatures of this process by studying the transport properties of graphene. Duca et al. used interferometry to directly measure this so-called Berry flux in a hexagonal optical lattice, where intersecting laser beams simulate the environment that electrons experience in graphene (see the Perspective by Lamacraft). The high-precision technique may be useful in characterizing other topological structures. Science , this issue p. 288 ; see also p. 232