Berry curvature effects in the Bloch oscillations of a quantum particle under a strong (synthetic) magnetic field

We study the magnetic Bloch oscillations performed by a quantum particle moving in a two-dimensional lattice in the presence of a strong (synthetic) magnetic field and a uniform force. An elementary derivation of the Berry curvature effect on the semiclassical trajectory is given as well as an explicit connection to the classical Hall effect in the continuum limit. Perspectives to observe these effects in optical systems using synthetic gauge fields for photons are finally discussed. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2013