Two-dimensional Rydberg gases and the quantum hard squares model
Atomic Physics
2015-05-27 v2 Quantum Gases
Abstract
We study a two-dimensional lattice gas of atoms that are photo-excited to high-lying Rydberg states in which they interact via the van-der-Waals interaction. We explore the regime of dominant nearest neighbor interaction where this system is intimately connected to a quantum version of Baxter's hard squares model. We show that the strongly correlated ground state of the Rydberg gas can be analytically described by a projected entangled pair state that constitutes the ground state of the quantum hard squares model. This correspondence allows us to identify a first order phase boundary where the Rydberg gas undergoes a transition from a disordered (liquid) phase to an ordered (solid) phase.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1104.3080,
title = {Two-dimensional Rydberg gases and the quantum hard squares model},
author = {S. Ji and C. Ates and I. Lesanovsky},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1104.3080},
year = {2015}
}