Observation of Nagaoka polarons in a Fermi-Hubbard quantum simulator.

Quantum interference can deeply alter the nature of many-body phases of matter. In the case of the Hubbard model, Nagaoka proved that introducing a single itinerant charge can transform a paramagnetic insulator into a ferromagnet through path interference. However, a microscopic observation of this kinetic magnetism induced by individually imaged dopants has been so far elusive.

Frustration- and doping-induced magnetism in a Fermi-Hubbard simulator.

Geometrical frustration in strongly correlated systems can give rise to a plethora of novel ordered states and intriguing magnetic phases, such as quantum spin liquids. Promising candidate materials for such phases can be described by the Hubbard model on an anisotropic triangular lattice, a paradigmatic model capturing the interplay between strong correlations and magnetic frustration. However, the fate of frustrated magnetism in the presence of itinerant dopants remains unclear, as well as its connection to the doped phases of the square Hubbard model.