We show that interacting bosons in a lattice of coupled plaquettes pierced by pi-flux host a  phase transition into a chiral Mott insulator.  Our construction shows that orbital-like order can be realized without employing higher bands.

Chiral orbital order of interacting bosons without higher bands
M. Di Liberto and N. Goldman
Phys. Rev. Research 5, 023064 (2023)

We discuss how to implement a quantum simulator for large spin models using the high angular momentum states of Rydberg excited atoms. This framework offers the opportunity for a bottom up realization of quantum field theories, exemplified in our work by the Sine-Gordon model.

High-dimensional SO(4)-symmetric Rydberg manifolds for quantum simulation

A. Kruckenhauser, R. van Bijnen, T. V. Zache, M. Di Liberto, and P. Zoller
Quantum Sci. Technol. 8 015020 (2023)

We introduce a novel topological effect corresponding to Bloch oscillations that display a Hall drift syncronized with band exchange dynamics. We show how this can occur in higher-order topological insulators and we identify a topological index that is related to the existence of helical edge modes.

Non-Abelian Bloch oscillations in higher-order topological insulators

M. Di Liberto, N. Goldman and G. Palumbo
Nature Communications 11, 5942 (2020)