When
atoms are cooled to nanokelvin temperatures, they can easily be
confined and manipulated with laser beams.
Crystalline materials are simulated by placing the atoms
into an optical
lattice, a periodic interference pattern of laser beams. Recently, synthetic
magnetic fields and
spin-orbit coupling have been realized.
With the help of laser beams, neutral atoms move around
in the same way
as charged particles subject to the magnetic Lorentz force. These developments should
allow the
realization of quantum Hall systems and topological insulators
with ultracold
atoms.