article published yes Dali Cheng author Kai Wang author Charles Roques-Carmes author e2e68fc9-6505-11ef-a541-eb4e72cc3e82 Eran Lustig author Olivia Y. Long author Heming Wang author Shanhui Fan author Non-Abelian gauge fields provide a conceptual framework to describe particles having spins, underlying many phenomena in electrodynamics, condensed-matter physics and particle physics. Lattice models of non-Abelian gauge fields allow us to understand their physical implications in extended systems. The theoretical importance of non-Abelian lattice gauge fields motivates their experimental synthesis and explorations. Photons are fundamental particles for which artificial gauge fields can be synthesized, yet the demonstration of non-Abelian lattice gauge fields for photons has not been achieved. Here we demonstrate SU(2) lattice gauge fields for photons in the synthetic frequency dimensions, a playground to study lattice physics in a scalable and programmable way. In our lattice model, we theoretically observe that homogeneous non-Abelian lattice gauge potentials induce Dirac cones at time-reversal-invariant momenta in the Brillouin zone. We experimentally confirm the presence of non-Abelian lattice gauge fields by two signatures: linear band crossings at the Dirac cones, and the associated direction reversal of eigenstate trajectories. We further demonstrate a non-Abelian scalar lattice gauge potential that lifts the degeneracies of the Dirac cones. Our results highlight the implications of non-Abelian lattice gauge fields in topological physics, and provide a starting point for demonstrations of emerging non-Abelian physics in the photonic synthetic dimensions. Our results may also benefit photonic technologies by providing controls of photon spins and pseudo-spins in topologically non-trivial ways. Springer Nature2025 eng 0028-0836 1476-4687 2406.00321 3974360010.1038/s41586-024-08259-2 637804452-56 yes Cheng, Dali, et al. “Non-Abelian Lattice Gauge Fields in Photonic Synthetic Frequency Dimensions.” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 637, no. 8044, Springer Nature, 2025, pp. 52–56, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2">10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2</a>. Cheng, D., Wang, K., Roques-Carmes, C., Lustig, E., Long, O. Y., Wang, H., &#38; Fan, S. (2025). Non-Abelian lattice gauge fields in photonic synthetic frequency dimensions. <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2</a> D. Cheng, K. Wang, C. Roques-Carmes, E. Lustig, O.Y. Long, H. Wang, S. Fan, Nature 637 (2025) 52–56. D. Cheng <i>et al.</i>, “Non-Abelian lattice gauge fields in photonic synthetic frequency dimensions,” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 637, no. 8044. Springer Nature, pp. 52–56, 2025. Cheng, Dali, Kai Wang, Charles Roques-Carmes, Eran Lustig, Olivia Y. Long, Heming Wang, and Shanhui Fan. “Non-Abelian Lattice Gauge Fields in Photonic Synthetic Frequency Dimensions.” <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2</a>. Cheng D, Wang K, Roques-Carmes C, et al. Non-Abelian lattice gauge fields in photonic synthetic frequency dimensions. <i>Nature</i>. 2025;637(8044):52-56. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2">10.1038/s41586-024-08259-2</a> Cheng D, Wang K, Roques-Carmes C, Lustig E, Long OY, Wang H, Fan S. 2025. Non-Abelian lattice gauge fields in photonic synthetic frequency dimensions. Nature. 637(8044), 52–56. 215482026-03-30T12:22:47Z2026-04-27T07:14:06Z