We consider interfaces between critical spin-chains in different universality classes, described in the continuum limit by defect/interface conformal field theory (DCFT/ICFT). We focus on a conformal interface between the Tricritical Ising (TIM) and the Ising CFT exploring the possibility of its experimental realizations in the context of Rydberg atom arrays. Our analysis emphasizes non-invertible symmetries and consistency under modular transformations, and uses defect couplings and the defect spectrum -- including in the case of mixed boundary conditions -- to make sharp experimental predictions. The structure of the observables hinges on a newly discovered pattern of emergent ${W}_3$ chiral symmetry for the Tricritical-Ising/Ising interface.
On the Ising/tricritical-Ising interface: From W3 symmetry to Rydberg atoms
We consider interfaces between critical spin-chains in different universality classes, described in the continuum limit by defect/interface conformal field theory (DCFT/ICFT). We focus on a conformal interface between the Tricritical Ising (TIM) and the Ising CFT exploring the possibility of its experimental realizations in the context of Rydberg atom arrays. Our analysis emphasizes non-invertible symmetries and consistency under modular transformations, and uses defect couplings and the defect spectrum -- including in the case of mixed boundary conditions -- to make sharp experimental predictions. The structure of the observables hinges on a newly discovered pattern of emergent W3 chiral symmetry for the Tricritical-Ising/Ising interface.
Rydberg chains provide an appealing platform for probing conformal field theories (CFTs) that capture universal behavior in a myriad of physical settings. Focusing on a Rydberg chain at the Ising transition separating charge density wave and disordered phases, we establish a detailed link between microscopics and low-energy physics emerging at criticality. We first construct lattice incarnations of primary fields in the underlying Ising CFT including chiral fermions, a nontrivial task given that the Rydberg chain Hamiltonian does not admit an exact fermionization. With this dictionary in hand, we compute correlations of microscopic Rydberg operators, paying special attention to finite, open chains of immediate experimental relevance. We further develop a method to quantify how second-neighbor Rydberg interactions tune the sign and strength of four-fermion couplings in the Ising CFT. Finally, we determine how the Ising fields evolve when four-fermion couplings drive an instability to Ising tricriticality. Our results pave the way to a thorough experimental characterization of Ising criticality in Rydberg arrays, and can inform the design of novel higher-dimensional phases based on coupled critical chains.
Conformal field theories (CFTs) feature prominently in high-energy physics, statistical mechanics, and condensed matter. For example, CFTs govern emergent universal properties of systems tuned to quantum phase transitions, including their entanglement, correlations, and low-energy excitation spectra. Much of the rich structure predicted by CFTs nevertheless remains unobserved in experiment. Here we directly observe the energy excitation spectra of emergent CFTs at quantum phase transitions -- recovering universal energy ratios characteristic of the underlying field theories. Specifically, we develop and implement a modulation technique to resolve a Rydberg chain's finite-size spectra, variably tuned to quantum phase transitions described by either Ising or tricritical Ising CFTs. We also employ local control to distinguish parities of excitations under reflection and, in the tricritical Ising chain, to induce transitions between distinct CFT spectra associated with changing boundary conditions. By utilizing a variant of the modulation technique, we furthermore study the dynamical structure factor of the critical system, which is closely related to the correlation of an underlying Ising conformal field. Our work not only probes the emergence of CFT features in a quantum simulator, but also provides a technique for diagnosing a priori unknown universality classes in future experiments.
Quantum critical points can host symmetry-protected topological (SPT) edge modes even when the bulk is gapless, giving rise to symmetry-enriched universality classes beyond the conventional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. Here we show that the tricritical Ising (TCI) critical point-described by a paradigmatic conformal field theory (CFT) with emergent supersymmetry-admits a topologically nontrivial, symmetry-enriched realization, which we term the topological TCI. We construct this critical point in the cluster O'Brien-Fendley (OF) spin chain by applying an SPT entangler to the original OF model. The two realizations therefore share the same bulk TCI CFT. Under open boundary conditions, however, the original model exhibits the free conformal boundary condition, whereas the cluster model exhibits a spontaneously fixed boundary condition: an infinitesimal boundary field can select one of the fixed boundary states, yielding spontaneous boundary magnetization. We further show that symmetry enrichment and boundary renormalization-group flow provide two routes to the spontaneously fixed boundary condition. Whereas the free and spontaneously fixed boundary conditions of the original model can be interconverted by tuning a symmetry-preserving boundary term, no such conversion occurs for the cluster model along the boundary deformations studied here, even in the strong-deformation limit. Although they share the same conventional boundary CFT (BCFT) data, including the boundary operator content and boundary-function, the two realizations of the spontaneously fixed boundary condition are distinguished by different time-reversal charges of the disorder field, which impose different symmetry constraints on the allowed boundary conditions under symmetry-preserving boundary deformations. For the tested symmetry-preserving boundary perturbations that lift the exact twofold degeneracy, the finite-size energy splitting is numerically consistent with exponential decay over accessible system sizes, in stark contrast to the algebraic splitting at the symmetry-enriched Ising critical point of the cluster Ising spin chain. We also find that the topological TCI realization persists along a critical line in a two-parameter phase diagram. These results establish a symmetry-enriched TCI universality class and uncover boundary distinctions invisible to conventional BCFT data.
The Ising model serves as a canonical platform for exploring emergent symmetry in quantum critical systems. The critical point of the 1D Ising chain is described by a conformal Ising field theory, which remains integrable in the presence of a magnetic perturbation, leading to massive particles associated with the exceptional Lie algebra E8. Weakly coupling two Ising chains into a ladder breaks this integrability and is predicted to confine the elementary excitations of each chain into a richer spectrum of bound states organized by a D8(1) symmetry. Experimental signatures of E8 excitations have arguably been observed in scattering studies of the spin chain material CoNb2O6, but direct evidence of confinement driven by inter-chain coupling has remained elusive. Here, we probe these emergent symmetries in a Rydberg atom quantum processing unit, leveraging its tunable geometry to realize both chain and ladder configurations. We identify mass spectra consistent with E8 at the single-chain critical point and, in the weakly coupled ladder, report the first signatures of confinement of Ising excitations into the bound-state spectrum predicted by D8(1) symmetry. Our results demonstrate the power of Rydberg platforms for investigating symmetry emergence in quantum many-body systems and provide a direct window into the interplay of confinement, geometry, and criticality.
The Ising model serves as a canonical platform for exploring emergent symmetry in quantum critical systems. The critical point of the 1D Ising chain is described by a conformal Ising field theory, which remains integrable in the presence of a magnetic perturbation, leading to massive particles associated with the exceptional Lie algebra E 8 . Weakly coupling two Ising chains into a ladder breaks this integrability and is predicted to bind the elementary kink excitations of the decoupled chains, giving rise to a richer spectrum of excitations described by the D 8 ( 1 ) theory. Experimental signatures of E 8 excitations have arguably been observed in scattering studies of the spin chain material CoNb 2 O 6 , but direct observation of the bound-state spectrum emerging from interchain coupling has remained elusive. Here, we probe these emergent symmetries in a Rydberg atom quantum processing unit, leveraging its tunable geometry to realize both chain and ladder configurations. We identify mass spectra consistent with E 8 at the single-chain critical point and, in the weakly coupled ladder, report the first signatures of the reorganization of Ising excitations into the bound-state spectrum predicted by D 8 ( 1 ) symmetry. Our results demonstrate the power of Rydberg platforms for investigating symmetry emergence in quantum many-body systems and provide a direct window into the interplay of quasiparticle interactions, geometry, and criticality.
Gapless quantum phases can become distinct when internal symmetries are enforced, in analogy with gapped symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases. However, this distinction does not always lead to protected edge modes, raising the question of how the bulk-boundary correspondence is generalized to gapless cases. We propose that the spatial interface between gapless phases -- rather than their boundaries -- provides a more robust fingerprint. We show that whenever two 1+1d conformal field theories (CFTs) differ in symmetry charge assignments of local operators or twisted sectors, any symmetry-preserving spatial interface between the theories must flow to a non-invertible defect. We illustrate this general result for different versions of the Ising CFT with Z2×Z2T symmetry, obtaining a complete classification of allowed conformal interfaces. When the Ising CFTs differ by nonlocal operator charges, the interface hosts 0+1d symmetry-breaking phases with finite-size splittings scaling as 1/L3, as well as continuous phase transitions between them. For general gapless phases differing by an SPT entangler, the interfaces between them can be mapped to conformal defects with a certain defect 't Hooft anomaly. This classification also gives implications for higher-dimensional examples, including symmetry-enriched variants of the 2+1d Ising CFT. Our results establish a physical indicator for symmetry-enriched criticality through symmetry-protected interfaces, giving a new handle on the interplay between topology and gapless phases.