Wilson fermions and axion electrodynamics in optical lattices

Abstract

We show that ultracold Fermi gases in optical superlattices can be used as quantum simulators of relativistic lattice fermions in 3 þ 1 dimensions. By exploiting laser-assisted tunneling, we find an analogue of the so-called naive Dirac fermions, and thus provide a realization of the fermion doubling problem. Moreover, we show how to implement Wilson fermions, and discuss how their mass can be inverted by tuning the laser intensities. In this regime, our atomic gas corresponds to a phase of matter where Maxwell electrodynamics is replaced by axion electrodynamics: a 3D topological insulator.