Kibble-Zurek exponent and chiral transition of the period-4 phase of Rydberg chains

Journal article

AbstractChains of Rydberg atoms have emerged as an amazing playground to study quantum physics in 1D. Playing with inter-atomic distances and laser detuning, one can in particular explore the commensurate-incommensurate transition out of density waves through the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, and the possible presence of a chiral transition with dynamical exponent z > 1. Here, we address this problem theoretically with effective blockade models where the short-distance repulsions are replaced by a constraint of no double occupancy. For the period-4 phase, we show that there is an Ashkin-Teller transition point with exponent ν = 0.78 surrounded by a direct chiral transition with a dynamical exponent z = 1.11 and a Kibble-Zurek exponent μ = 0.41. For Rydberg atoms with a van der Waals potential, we suggest that the experimental value μ = 0.25 is due to a chiral transition with z ≃ 1.9 and ν ≃ 0.47 surrounding an Ashkin-Teller transition close to the 4-state Potts universality.

Authors: Chepiga, N; Mila, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 414-414
• Article number: 414
• Publication date: 2021-01-18
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20641-y
• EISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• Language: English
• Keywords: Quantum phase transition; Phase transition; Rydberg formula; van der Waals force; Exponent; Rydberg atom; Transition point