Rydberg atom arrays with van der Waals interactions provide a controllable path to quantum simulate the locally connected transverse-field Ising model (TFIM), a prototypical model in statistical mechanics. Remotely operating the publicly accessible Aquila Rydberg atom array, we experimentally investigate the physics of TFIM far from equilibrium and uncover significant deviations from the theoretical predictions. Rather than the expected ballistic spread of correlations, the Rydberg simulator exhibits a sub-ballistic spread, along with a logarithmic scaling of entanglement entropy in time all while the system mostly retains its initial magnetization. By modeling the atom motion, we trace these effects to an emergent disorder in Rydberg atom arrays, which we characterize with a minimal random spin model. We further experimentally explore the different dynamical regimes hosted in the system by varying the lattice spacing and the Rabi frequency. Our findings highlight the crucial role of atom motion in the many-body dynamics of Rydberg atom arrays at the TFIM limit, and propose simple benchmark measurements to test for its presence in future experiments.Rydberg atom arrays with van der Waals interactions provide a controllable path to quantum simulate the locally connected transverse-field Ising model (TFIM), a prototypical model in statistical mechanics. Remotely operating the publicly accessible Aquila Rydberg atom array, we experimentally investigate the physics of TFIM far from equilibrium and uncover significant deviations from the theoretical predictions. Rather than the expected ballistic spread of correlations, the Rydberg simulator exhibits a sub-ballistic spread, along with a logarithmic scaling of entanglement entropy in time all while the system mostly retains its initial magnetization. By modeling the atom motion, we trace these effects to an emergent disorder in Rydberg atom arrays, which we characterize with a minimal random spin model. We further experimentally explore the different dynamical regimes hosted in the system by varying the lattice spacing and the Rabi frequency. Our findings highlight the crucial role of atom motion in the many-body dynamics of Rydberg atom arrays at the TFIM limit, and propose simple benchmark measurements to test for its presence in future experiments.

arXiv:2411.13643Physical Review LettersNov 17, 20255 citations

Effect of atomic motion on Rydberg blockade in a hot atomic beam

S. Yoshida, Joachim Burgd orfer, X. Zhang +1 more

Bulletin of the American Physical SocietyJun 7, 20170 citations

Motional decoherence in ultracold-Rydberg-atom quantum simulators of spin models

Zewen Zhang, Ming Yuan, Bhuvanesh Sundar +1 more

Ultracold Rydberg-atom arrays are an emerging platform for quantum simulation and computing. However, decoherence in these systems remains incompletely understood. Recent experiments [Guardado-Sanchez et al., Phys. Rev. X 8, 021069 (2018)] observed strong decoherence in the quench and longitudinal-field-sweep dynamics of two-dimensional Ising models realized with $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ Rydberg atoms in optical lattices. This decoherence was conjectured to arise from the effective spin $\frac{1}{2}$ formed by the ground and Rydberg electronic states coupling to atom motion and therefore inducing an effective interaction noise. Here we show that this spin-motion coupling indeed leads to decoherence in qualitative, and often quantitative, agreement with the experimental data, by treating the difficult spin-motion-coupled problem using the discrete truncated Wigner approximation method. We also show that this decoherence will be an important factor to account for in future experiments with Rydberg atoms in optical lattices and microtrap arrays and discuss methods to mitigate the effect of motion, such as using heavier atoms or deeper traps.Ultracold Rydberg-atom arrays are an emerging platform for quantum simulation and computing. However, decoherence in these systems remains incompletely understood. Recent experiments [Guardado-Sanchez et al., Phys. Rev. X 8, 021069 (2018)] observed strong decoherence in the quench and longitudinal-field-sweep dynamics of two-dimensional Ising models realized with $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ Rydberg atoms in optical lattices. This decoherence was conjectured to arise from the effective spin $\frac{1}{2}$ formed by the ground and Rydberg electronic states coupling to atom motion and therefore inducing an effective interaction noise. Here we show that this spin-motion coupling indeed leads to decoherence in qualitative, and often quantitative, agreement with the experimental data, by treating the difficult spin-motion-coupled problem using the discrete truncated Wigner approximation method. We also show that this decoherence will be an important factor to account for in future experiments with Rydberg atoms in optical lattices and microtrap arrays and discuss methods to mitigate the effect of motion, such as using heavier atoms or deeper traps.

arXiv:2201.08463Physical Review ANov 27, 20249 citations

Quantum dynamics of three-dimensional Rydberg-atom systems

MinHyuk Kim, Hansub Hwang, Heekun Nho +2 more

Bulletin of the American Physical SocietyJun 5, 20200 citations

^{6}\mathrm{Li}

Rydberg atoms in optical lattices. This decoherence was conjectured to arise from the effective spin

\frac{1}{2}

formed by the ground and Rydberg electronic states coupling to atom motion and therefore inducing an effective interaction noise. Here we show that this spin-motion coupling indeed leads to decoherence in qualitative, and often quantitative, agreement with the experimental data, by treating the difficult spin-motion-coupled problem using the discrete truncated Wigner approximation method. We also show that this decoherence will be an important factor to account for in future experiments with Rydberg atoms in optical lattices and microtrap arrays and discuss methods to mitigate the effect of motion, such as using heavier atoms or deeper traps.