  We propose an experimental protocol for using cold atoms to create and probe
quantum dimer models, thereby exploring the Pauling-Anderson vision of a
macroscopic collection of resonating bonds. This process can allow the study of
exotic crystalline phases, fractionalization, topological spin liquids, and the
relationship between resonating dimers and superconductivity subjects which
have been challenging to address in solid-state experiments. Our key technical
development is considering the action of an off-resonant photoassociation laser
on large spin atoms localized at the sites of a deep optical lattice. The
resulting superexchange interaction favors nearest-neighbor singlets. We derive
an effective Hamiltonian in terms of these dimer degrees of freedom, finding
that it is similar to well-known quantum dimer models, which boast a rich
variety of valence bond crystal and spin liquid phases. We numerically study
the ground state, explain how to tune the parameters, and develop a protocol to
directly measure the dimers and their resonating patterns.
