Although lattice gauge theories are primarily considered in particle physics, they are also a valuable platform to study strongly correlated quantum systems in condensed-matter physics. Particularly interesting is the study of confinement, which can arise when dynamical charges are coupled to gauge fields. In this talk, I will present our recent work on a one-dimensional Z2 lattice gauge theory (LGT), where dynamical matter is coupled to Z2 gauge field [1]. This results in a non-local linear confining potential between particle pairs, that can be probed by considering a Z2 invariant Green's function [2] and performing DMRG calculations. We solve the confinement problem by performing a non-local basis transformation and relate confinement to translational symmetry breaking in the new basis. In addition, we also study phase diagrams of the model at different fillings and uncover rich physics [3]. Our study is also partially motivated by recent advancements in cold atom simulation. The one-dimensional Z2 LGT can be directly related to a one-dimensional t-Jz model, which means that it is already within the reach of the current experimental setups. In addition, it can also offer deeper physical understanding of the phenomena in t-J models.

[1] Kebrič et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 167203 (2021)

[2] Borla et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 120503 (2020)

[3] Kebrič et al., arXiv: 2206.13487, (2022)

(Pizza and refreshments will be served after the talk.)