We report the observation of electron spin interactions between Rydberg atoms, which are driven by spin-orbit coupling through second-order dipole perturbation and exhibit a spatial anisotropy governed by the atomic configuration. Specifically, we observe coherent electron spin exchange dynamics, with the measured coupling strength agreeing well with both numerical calculations and theoretical models. Furthermore, we show that global microwave dressing enables active engineering and dynamical freezing of the spin exchange by introducing a differential AC Stark shift between the participating states. Additionally, we achieve tunability of the interaction by applying a stronger magnetic field, which effectively modifies the energy contributions of the underlying spin-orbit coupling channels. Finally, measuring spin dynamics in one-dimensional multi-atom chains aligned parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field provides a self-consistent validation of the anisotropic XXZ framework. This electron spin interaction natively features spin-position coupling and enables a natural mapping onto the Heisenberg-Kitaev model. Our findings reveal a new class of electron spin-spin interactions among Rydberg atoms, expanding the scope of quantum simulation with Rydberg atom arrays.
We report the observation of electron spin interactions between Rydberg atoms, which are driven by spin-orbit coupling through second-order dipole perturbation and exhibit a spatial anisotropy governed by the atomic configuration. Specifically, we observe coherent electron spin exchange dynamics, with the measured coupling strength agreeing well with both numerical calculations and theoretical models. Furthermore, we show that global microwave dressing enables active engineering and dynamical freezing of the spin exchange by introducing a differential AC Stark shift between the participating states. Additionally, we achieve tunability of the interaction by applying a stronger magnetic field, which effectively modifies the energy contributions of the underlying spin-orbit coupling channels. Finally, measuring spin dynamics in one-dimensional multi-atom chains aligned parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field provides a self-consistent validation of the anisotropic XXZ framework. This electron spin interaction natively features spin-position coupling and enables a natural mapping onto the Heisenberg-Kitaev model. Our findings reveal a new class of electron spin-spin interactions among Rydberg atoms, expanding the scope of quantum simulation with Rydberg atom arrays.
Strong interactions between s-orbital Rydberg atoms underpin atom-array-based quantum computation and quantum simulation. Typically, the spin dependence of these interactions is negligible and plays no practical role. In this Letter, we uncover that a strong electron-spin-dependent Rydberg interaction can emerge when the principal quantum numbers of the two s-orbital atoms differ by a sweet-spot value. This interaction originates from the fine-structure splitting of nearby p orbitals, which endows it with distinct symmetry properties such that the electron spins are coupled to the relative position of the two atoms, featuring a spatially defined anisotropy. We further demonstrate that this interaction admits a universal form, independent of the principal quantum numbers, and highlight its fundamental distinction from conventional magnetic dipolar interactions, establishing it as a new type of native magnetic interaction in nature. Our findings introduce a new element to the Rydberg quantum simulation toolbox. As a concrete application, we propose a native realization of the Kitaev-Heisenberg model, which hosts an unusual stripe phase as a quantum many-body manifestation of spin-space locking.
We use the resonant dipole-dipole interaction between Rydberg atoms and a periodic external microwave field to engineer XXZ spin Hamiltonians with tunable anisotropies.The atoms are placed in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) arrays of optical tweezers.As illustrations, we apply this engineering to two iconic situations in spin physics: the Heisenberg model in square arrays and spin transport in 1D.We first benchmark the Hamiltonian engineering for two atoms and then demonstrate the freezing of the magnetization on an initially magnetized 2D array.Finally, we explore the dynamics of 1D domain-wall systems with both periodic and open boundary conditions.We systematically compare our data with numerical simulations and assess the residual limitations of the technique as well as routes for improvement.The geometrical versatility of the platform, combined with the flexibility of the simulated Hamiltonians, opens up exciting prospects in the fields of quantum simulation, quantum information processing, and quantum sensing.
An important step towards a comprehensive understanding of far-from-equilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems is the identification of unifying features that are independent of microscopic details of the system. We experimentally observe such robust features in the magnetization relaxation dynamics of disordered Heisenberg XX, XXZ, and Ising Hamiltonians. We realize these Heisenberg spin models with tunable anisotropy parameter and power-law interactions in an ensemble of Rydberg atoms by encoding the spin in suitable Rydberg state combinations. We consistently observe stretched-exponential relaxation of magnetization for all considered spin models, collapsing onto a single curve after appropriate rescaling of time. This robust short-time relaxation behavior is explained by a perturbative treatment that exploits the strong disorder in pairwise couplings, which leads to a description in terms of approximately independent pairs of spins. In numerical simulations of small systems, we show that these pairs of spins constitute approximate local integrals of motion, which remain at least partially conserved on a timescale exceeding the duration of the relaxation dynamics of the magnetization. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
This thesis explores the implementation of a spin-1/2 system to realise quantum simulation of Heisenberg XX and XXZ models. The spins are mapped onto two high-lying atomic levels, so-called Rydberg states, in an ultracold sample of 87Rb and coupled by a microwave field. Efficient synthesis and control of the driving field has been introduced in the setup in order to probe the spin dynamics with NMR sequences. Two- and three-photon excitation schemes are implemented to prepare the Rydberg spins. In order to spatially resolve the Rydberg excitation dynamics, a new imaging technique is employed, which uses the depletion of absorption in presence of Rydberg atoms to detect their distribution in the atomic cloud, revealing the emergence of spatial order of the Rydberg excitations due to strong van der Waals interactions. To benchmark the validity of this platform, the coherence of the spin ensemble is measured by Ramsey techniques in the low-density regime, where the single-spin dynamics accurately describes the observations. Despite the black-body redistribution of Rydberg spins setting a limit for the T2* time of the spin system, the coherence is measured to persist over long timescales on the order of 130 μs. Thus, scaling up the density of spins, first signatures of dipolar many-body effects for |nS⟩ − |nP⟩ (XX) and |nS⟩ − |(n + 1)S⟩ (XXZ) spin combinations have been observed.
This thesis demonstrates that arrays of electric dipoles are good analogs for quantum magnets. We center our investigation on a recently developed experiment, in which rubidium-87 atoms are trapped in optical tweezers and then excited into two distinct electronic Rydberg states. The electric dipole-dipole interaction between these Rydberg atoms is mathematically modeled by a spin Hamiltonian with easy-plane anisotropy, and coupling strength decaying as the inverse cube of the distance. We approximately solve for the ground state of this model Hamiltonian on each of the eleven Archimedean lattices, through large-scale density matrix renormalization group calculations. For the kagome lattice, we gather extensive numerical evidence for an emergent quantum spin liquid, similar to that occurring in the canonical Heisenberg model of quantum magnetism. We predict this spin liquid to be of 𝑈(1) Dirac type, and propose new protocols for experimentally preparing and characterizing it. Our theoretical calculations support the collaborative design and analysis of experiments studying dipolar Rydberg atoms in square, circular, and kagome arrays. These respectively result in observations of continuous symmetry breaking, Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior, and an atomic spin liquid candidate.
In the last years, the electron spin in quantum dots has become a most promising candidate for the realization of qubits, the basic element for quantum computation. In quantum dot spin qubits the exchange interaction implements a fundamental two qubit gate, which originates in the Coulomb interaction and the Pauli principle. Compared to single qubit gates, the exchange based gates are much faster and easier to control locally, motivating the solely exchange energy based quantum computation. The control is based on the exponential sensitivity of the exchange energy on the interparticle distance. Manipulation then can proceed, for example, shifting the single particle states electrically or compressing them magnetically. The practical manipulation schemes require quantitative knowledge of the exchange energy. The spin-orbit interaction plays an important role in this nano-system. Indeed the usual exchange interaction changes its magnitude, while a new term, called anisotropic exchange, appears. In this thesis we propose an accurate effective spin Hamiltonian for modeling spin-orbit-induced spin dynamics in the presence of the magnetic field. We have also performed numerically exact calculations of the isotropic and anisotropic exchange coupling in realistic two-electron GaAs coupled quantum dots in the presence of both Dresselhaus and Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit interactions. The numerics allow us to establish the goodness of our model and to see the limits of previous statements. Furthermore we find that in zero magnetic field the second-order spin-orbit effects are absent at all interdot couplings.