We review recent suggestions to quantum simulate scalar electrodynamics (the lattice Abelian Higgs model) in 1+1 dimensions with rectangular arrays of Rydberg atoms. We show that platforms made publicly available recently allow empirical explorations of the critical behavior of quantum simulators. We discuss recent progress regarding the phase diagram of two-leg ladders, effective Hamiltonian approaches and the construction of hybrid quantum algorithms targeting hadronization in collider physics event generators.
We review recent suggestions to quantum simulate scalar electrodynamics (the lattice Abelian Higgs model) in 1+1 dimensions with rectangular arrays of Rydberg atoms. We show that platforms made publicly available recently allow empirical explorations of the critical behavior of quantum simulators. We discuss recent progress regarding the phase diagram of two-leg ladders, effective Hamiltonian approaches and the construction of hybrid quantum algorithms targeting hadronization in collider physics event generators.
We consider multileg ladders of Rydberg atoms which have been proposed as quantum simulators for the compact Abelian Higgs model (CAHM) in 1+1 dimensions [Y. Meurice, Phys. Rev. D 104, 094513 (2021)] and modified versions of theses simulators such as triangular prisms. Starting with the physical Hamiltonian for the analog simulator, we construct translation-invariant effective Hamiltonians by integrating over the simulator high-energy states produced by the blockade mechanism when some of the atoms are sufficiently close to each other. Remarkably, for all the simulators considered, the effective Hamiltonians have the three types of terms present for the CAHM (electric field, matter charge, and current energy), but in addition, they have terms quartic in the electric field. For the two-leg ladder, these additional terms cannot be removed by fine-tuning the adjustable parameters of currently available devices. For positive detuning, the new terms create highly degenerate vacua, resulting in a very interesting phase diagram. Using numerical methods, we demonstrate the close correspondence between the physical simulator and the effective description for the ground-state energy and real-time evolution. We discuss the phase diagram at fixed geometry with variable Rabi frequency and detuning, and we show that a rich variety of phases can be reached with potential interest in the context of QCD at finite density. We illustrate how the effective description can be used to design simulators with desirable properties from the point of view of constructing hybrid event generators.
The lattice compact Abelian Higgs model is a nonperturbative regularized formulation of low-energy scalar quantum electrodynamics. In 1+1 dimensions, this model can be quantum simulated using a ladder-shaped optical lattice with Rydberg-dressed atoms [J. Zhang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 223201 (2018)]. In this setup, one spatial dimension is used to carry the angular momentum of the quantum rotors. One can use truncations corresponding to spin-2 and spin-1 to build local Hilbert spaces associated with the links of the lattice. We argue that ladder-shaped configurable arrays of Rydberg atoms can be used for the same purpose. We make concrete proposals involving two and three Rydberg atoms to build one local spin-1 space (a qutrit). We show that the building blocks of the Hamiltonian calculations are models with one and two spins. We compare target and simulators using perturbative and numerical methods. The two-atom setup provides an easily controllable simulator of the one-spin model while the three-atom setup involves solving nonlinear equations. We discuss approximate methods to couple two spin-1 spaces. The article provides analytical and numerical tools necessary to design and build the proposed simulators with current technology.
Rydberg atoms, characterized by their strong and long-range dipole-dipole interactions, provide a versatile platform for exploring intriguing collective and many-body effects. Recently, the experimental realization of these effects in dense ensembles and reconfigurable atomic arrays has attracted significant interest, particularly for applications in quantum simulations and non-equilibrium physics. This review focuses on such recent development, discussing the theoretical foundations of the interactions between Rydberg atoms and the ensuing many-body physics, while providing a critical survey of experimental techniques for their precise manipulation and observation. We further discuss recent breakthroughs in leveraging Rydberg collective effects to probe novel many-body phases and non-equilibrium dynamics of these systems. By synthesizing theoretical insights with experimental milestones, we provide a comprehensive perspective on this rapidly evolving field and its transformative potential for future quantum technologies.
This thesis presents our recent studies on quantum simulation of the Abelian Higgs lattice gauge theory with quantum systems engineered with ultracold atoms in optical lattices and quantum equilibration and thermalization dynamics in the context of Joule expansion in cold atom systems.In the first part, we give proposals for the analog quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories with cold atoms in optical lattices with current experimental techniques, aiming at maximal simplicity on both the theoretical and experimental side. We search for the suitable platform for quantum simulation of the (1+1)-dimensional Abelian Higgs model, which is the scalar quantum electrodynamics replacing the fermionic fields by complex scalar fields. We use a discrete tensor reformulation to smoothly connect the space-time isotropic version used in most numerical lattice simulations to the continuous-time limit corresponding to the Hamiltonian formulation. We propose to use the Bose Hubbard model as a quantum simulator to probe the conformal Calabrese-Cardy scaling of its O(2) limit with a chemical potential. We also propose to use a physical multileg ladder of atoms trapped in optical lattices and interacting with Rydberg-dressed interactions to quantum simulate the model and measure the Polyakov loop. Numeric results from the Monte Carlo, the tensor renormalization group and the density matrix renormalization group techniques are cross-checked to support our proposals.In the second part of this thesis, we investigate the Joule expansion of nonintegrable quantum systems that contain bosons or spinless fermions in one-dimensional lattices. Initially a barrier confines the particles to be in half of the system in a thermal state described by the canonical ensemble and is removed at time t=0. We study the properties of the time-evolved density matrix, the diagonal ensemble density matrix and the corresponding canonical ensemble density matrix with an effective temperature determined by the total energy conservation. We discuss the equilibration and thermalization for the R\\'enyi entropy of subsystems, few-body observables and reduced density matrices in subsystems. We finally discuss the difference between bosons and fermions in finite size scaling of the effective temperature. We propose the Joule expansion as a way to dynamically create negative temperature states for fermion systems with repulsive interactions.
Programmable quantum simulators based on Rydberg atom arrays provide a versatile platform for data-driven quantum simulation of strongly correlated systems, combinatorial optimization problems, and artificial quantum materials. In this review, we present a unified perspective on how materials-inspired effective Hamiltonians can be engineered and probed in Rydberg arrays, highlighting representative phenomena such as quantum phase transitions, frustrated spin-liquid-like states, symmetry-protected topological phases, and nonequilibrium dynamics. We further discuss recent progress in machine learning-based approaches, including phase identification from experimental snapshots, neural network quantum states, Hamiltonian learning, and quantum reservoir computing. A central theme is the emergence of closed-loop classical-quantum hybrid workflows, in which quantum simulation, measurement, and classical inference are integrated through iterative feedback. These developments position Rydberg atom arrays not only as programmable simulators but also as data-driven platforms for the scalable exploration, characterization, and design of complex quantum materials.
A major application of analog quantum hardware is quantum simulation, where a system evolves over time according to a given Hamiltonian. One challenge when implementing the Hamiltonian on a programmable quantum simulator is the availability of distinct coupling types, many of which go beyond the conventional ZZ-couplings found in Ising Hamiltonians that are naturally implemented by various platforms. In prior work, we have developed a method based on domain wall encoding to simulate one-dimensional spin chains using only Ising Hamiltonians, which would otherwise require XX+YY-couplings as well. Here, we implement the method on a commercially accessible Rydberg atom quantum device, and simulate the time evolution of the Heisenberg XXZ model with various anisotropies. We successfully probe the XY and Ising phases of the model and reproduce the qualitative behavior of several one- and two-body observables in both phases, as well as at the critical point. Our work augments the toolbox to simulate canonical quantum many-body systems on analog quantum simulators.