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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Chiral phases and dynamics of dipoles in triangular optical ladders

Arjo Dasgupta1, Mateusz Łącki2, Henning Korbmacher1, Gustavo A. Domínguez-Castro3, Jakub Zakrzewski2,4, and Luis Santos1

  • 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • 2Institute of Theoretical Physics, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, ul. Lojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
  • 3Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 14, 22800 Ensenada, Baja California, México
  • 4Mark Kac Complex Systems Research Center, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland

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Phys. Rev. A 113, L031301 – Published 3 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wp7z-tg3v

Abstract

Dipoles in triangular optical ladders constitute a flexible platform for the study of the interplay between geometric frustration and long-range anisotropic interactions, and in particular for the observation of the spontaneous onset of chirality. Frustration magnifies the effect of the dipolar interactions in itinerant polarized dipolar bosons. As a result, the dipole-induced transition between a chiral superfluid and a nonchiral two-component superfluid may be observed for current state-of-the-art temperatures even for the weak intersite interaction characterizing magnetic atoms in standard optical lattices. On the other hand, pinned spin-1/2 dipoles, which we discuss in the context of polar molecules in two rotational states, realize frustrated dipolar XXZ spin models. By controlling the external electric field strength and orientation, these systems can explore a rich ground-state landscape including chiral and nematic phases, as well as intriguing chiral dynamics.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, L031301– Published 3 March, 2026
  • Received 21 November 2025
  • Accepted 9 February 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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