Numerical investigation of quantum phases and phase transitions in a two-leg ladder of Rydberg atoms
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Experiments on chains of Rydberg atoms appear as a playground to study quantum phase transitions in 1D. As a natural extension, we report a quantitative ground-state phase diagram of Rydberg atoms arranged in a two-leg ladder interacting via van der Waals potential. We address this problem numerically, using the density matrix renormalization group algorithm. Our results suggest that, quite remarkably, Z k crystalline phases, with the exception of the checkerboard phase, appear in pairs characterized by the same pattern of occupied rungs but distinguishable by a spontaneously broken Z ̃ 2 symmetry between the two legs of the ladder. Within each pair, the two phases are separated by a continuous transition in the Ising universality class, which eventually fuses with the Z k transition, whose nature depends on k . According to our results, the transition into the Z 2 ⊗ Z ̃ 2 phase changes its nature multiple times, including an Ashkin-Teller transition that is surprisingly stable over an extended interval, followed by the Z 4 -chiral transition, and finally in a two step-process mediated melting via the floating phase. The transition into the Z 3 phase with resonant states on the rungs belongs to the three-state Potts universality class at the commensurate point, to the Z 3 -chiral Huse-Fisher universality class away from it, and eventually it is through an intermediate floating phase. The Ising transition between Z 3 and Z 3 ⊗ Z ̃ 2 phases, entering the floating phase, opens the possibility to realize lattice supersymmetry in Rydberg quantum simulators.
Source: Physical Review Research
Authors: Jose Soto-Garcia, Natalia Chepiga
Institution: Delft University of Technology
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,625
Funder: Technische Universiteit Delft
OpenAlex ID: W4408024142