  Ultra-cold dipolar spinor fermions in zig-zag type optical lattices can mimic
spin-orbital models relevant in solid-state systems, as transition-metal oxides
with partially filled d-levels, with the interesting advantage of reviving the
quantum nature of orbital fluctuations. We discuss two different physical
systems in which these models may be simulated, showing that the interplay
between lattice geometry and spin-orbital quantum dynamics produces a wealth of
novel quantum phases.
