Probing quantum floating phases in Rydberg atom arrays
The floating phase, a critical incommensurate phase, has been theoretically predicted as a potential intermediate phase between crystalline ordered and disordered phases. In this study, we investigate the different quantum phases that arise in ladder arrays comprising up to 92 neutral-atom qubits and experimentally observe the emergence of the quantum floating phase. We analyze the site-resolved Rydberg state densities and the distribution of state occurrences. The site-resolved measurement reveals the formation of domain walls within the commensurate ordered phase, which subsequently proliferate and give rise to the floating phase with incommensurate quasi-long-range order. By analyzing the Fourier spectra of the Rydberg density-density correlations, we observe clear signatures of the incommensurate wave order of the floating phase. Furthermore, as the experimental system sizes increase, we show that the wave vectors approach a continuum of values incommensurate with the lattice. Our work motivates future studies to further explore the nature of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions and their non-equilibrium physics.
Authors
- Fangli Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5690-4995)
- Florian Huber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2896-7921)
- Shan-Wen Tsai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2479-3637)
- Alexander Keesling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3931-0949)
- Sheng-Tao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1403-5901)
- Alexei Bylinskii
- Yannick Meurice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0995-9694)
- Sergio Cantu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9530-2559)
- Jin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0568-4221)
- Nathan Gemelke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9911-4275)
- A. Ya. Lukin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8479-1836)
- Boris Braverman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5193-2711)
- Jesse Amato-Grill
Institutions
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Chongqing University (CN)
- QuEra Computing (United States) (US)
- Chongqing University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-01-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55947-2
- Citations
- 16
- Primary Topic
- Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 19.95
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment
- National Institutes of Health
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities