Quantum spin ice in three-dimensional Rydberg atom arrays

Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of matter whose low-energy physics is described as the deconfined phase of an emergent gauge theory. With recent theory proposals and an experiment showing preliminary signs of \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) topological order [G. Semeghini et al., Science 374, 1242 (2021)],...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-06
Main Authors: Shah, Jeet, Nambiar, Gautam, Gorshkov, Alexey V, Galitski, Victor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Confinement
Gauge theory
Phase diagrams
Rabi frequency
Spin ice
Spin liquid
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of matter whose low-energy physics is described as the deconfined phase of an emergent gauge theory. With recent theory proposals and an experiment showing preliminary signs of \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) topological order [G. Semeghini et al., Science 374, 1242 (2021)], Rydberg atom arrays have emerged as a promising platform to realize a quantum spin liquid. In this work, we propose a way to realize a \(U(1)\) quantum spin liquid in three spatial dimensions, described by the deconfined phase of \(U(1)\) gauge theory in a pyrochlore lattice Rydberg atom array. We study the ground state phase diagram of the proposed Rydberg system as a function of experimentally relevant parameters. Within our calculation, we find that by tuning the Rabi frequency, one can access both the confinement-deconfinement transition driven by a proliferation of "magnetic" monopoles and the Higgs transition driven by a proliferation of "electric" charges of the emergent gauge theory. We suggest experimental probes for distinguishing the deconfined phase from ordered phases. This work serves as a proposal to access a confinement-deconfinement transition in three spatial dimensions on a Rydberg-based quantum simulator.
ISSN:2331-8422