Related papers: Quantum critical behavior in strongly interacting …
Quantum optics based on highly excited atoms, also known as Rydberg atoms, has cemented itself as a powerful platform for the manipulation of light at the few-photon level. The Rydberg blockade, resulting from the strong interaction between…
Hosting giant Rydberg excitons with principal quantum numbers up to n = 30, cuprous oxide (Cu2O) provides a rare solid-state setting for exploring Rydberg physics, as exemplified by the blockade effect. Here we access the strongly…
We present a method to control the shape and character of the interaction potential between cold atomic gases by weakly dressing the atomic ground state with a Rydberg level. For increasing particle densities, a crossover takes place from a…
The strong interaction between Rydberg atoms can be used to control the strength and character of the interatomic interaction in ultracold gases by weakly dressing the atoms with a Rydberg state. Elaborate theoretical proposals for the…
We develop an approach to generate finite-range atomic interactions via optical Rydberg-state excitation and study the underlying excitation dynamics in theory and experiment. In contrast to previous work, the proposed scheme is based on…
The interaction of a single photon with an individual two-level system is the textbook example of quantum electrodynamics. Achieving strong coupling in this system so far required confinement of the light field inside resonators or…
The dynamics of Rydberg states of a hydrogen atom subject simultaneously to uniform static electric field and two microwave fields with commensurate frequencies is considered in the range of small fields amplitudes. In the certain range of…
The dipole blockade between Rydberg atoms has been proposed as a basic tool in quantum information processing with neutral atoms. Here we demonstrate experimentally the Rydberg blockade of two individual atoms separated by 4 $\mu$m.…
Rydberg states of atoms are of great current interest for quantum manipulation of mesoscopic samples of atoms. Long-range Rydberg-Rydberg interactions can inhibit multiple excitations of atoms under the appropriate conditions. These…
Strongly Rydberg-blockaded two-level atoms form a Rydberg superatom, which is excited only to a collective symmetrical Dicke state. However, emerging often in the alkali-earth atoms, the spontaneous decay from the Rydberg state to an…
The many-body physics at quantum phase transitions shows a subtle interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations, emerging in the low-temperature limit. In this review, we first give a pedagogical introduction to the equilibrium…
We demonstrate a non-equilibrium phase transition in a dilute thermal atomic gas. The phase transition, between states of low and high Rydberg occupancy, is induced by resonant dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg atoms. The gas can…
Non-Hermitian physics exhibits unique physical properties beyond those of traditional Hermitian systems, such as symmetry breaking, the emergence of exceptional points, topological phase transitions, and more. These phenomena have been…
A quantum phase transition is an unequivocal signature of strongly correlated many-body physics. Signatures of such phenomena are yet to be observed in ballistic transport through quantum wires. Recent developments in quantum wires have…
Arrays of Rydberg atoms in the blockade regime realize a wealth of strongly correlated quantum physics, but theoretical analysis beyond the chain is rather difficult. Here we study a tractable model of Rydberg-blockade atoms on the square…
We study an open quantum system of atoms with long-range Rydberg interaction, laser driving, and spontaneous emission. Over time, the system occasionally jumps between a state of low Rydberg population and a state of high Rydberg…
The dynamics at the critical-point of a general first-order quantum phase transition in a finite system is examined, from an algebraic perspective. Suitable Hamiltonians are constructed whose spectra exhibit coexistence of states…
We explore the non-equilibrium evolution and stationary states of an open many-body system which displays epidemic spreading dynamics in a classical and a quantum regime. Our study is motivated by recent experiments conducted in strongly…
We study the quantum nonequilibrium dynamics of ultracold three-level atoms trapped in an optical lattice, which are excited to their Rydberg states via a two-photon excitation with nonnegligible spontaneous emission. Rich quantum phases…
We describe the emergence of strong spatial correlations, akin to liquid-like behavior and crystallization effects, in low (one and two) dimensional gases of cold Rydberg atoms. The presence of an external electric field permanently…