Robustness to disorder is the defining property of any topological state. The ultimate disorder limits to topological protection are still unknown, although a number of theories predict that even in the amorphous state a quantized conductance might yet reemerge. Here we report that in strongly disordered thin films of the topological material Sb2Te3
Spin transport in a Mott insulator of ultracold fermions
Strongly correlated materials are expected to feature unconventional transport properties, such that charge, spin, and heat conduction are potentially independent probes of the dynamics. In contrast to charge transport, the measurement of spin transport in such materials is highly challenging. We observed spin conduction and diffusion in a system of ultracold fermionic atoms that realizes the half-filled Fermi-Hubbard model. For strong interactions, spin diffusion is driven by super-exchange and doublon-hole–assisted tunneling, and strongly violates the quantum limit of charge diffusion. The technique developed in this work can be extended to finite doping, which can shed light on the complex interplay between spin and charge in the Hubbard model.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1734011
- PAR ID:
- 10099314
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Science
- Volume:
- 363
- Issue:
- 6425
- ISSN:
- 0036-8075
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 383 to 387
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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