Coupled Ferromagnetic and Nematic Ordering of Fermions in an Optical Flux Lattice

Ultracold atoms in Raman-dressed optical lattices allow for effective momentum-dependent interactions among single-species fermions originating from short-range s-wave interactions. These dressed-state interactions combined with the very flat bands encountered in the recently introduced optical flux lattices push the Stoner instability towards weaker repulsive interactions, making it accessible with current experiments. As a consequence of the coupling between spin and orbital degrees of freedom, the magnetic phase features Ising nematic order. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.265301