Probing quantum phenomena with neutral species atom arrays

Abstract: Optical tweezer arrays of neutral atoms have emerged as a
promising platform for quantum science. Their geometries are highly
configurable, and excitation to Rydberg states allows the atoms to
interact. When driven by a laser, the system supports a rich phase
diagram containing both a paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phase.
The critical point between these phases belongs to the Ising
universality class, allowing our simulator to provide direct
measurements of the universal scaling dimensions of the Ising
conformal field theory (CFT). We adiabatically prepare the ground
state at the critical point in a 1D ring of up to 40 atoms and 2D
square of up to 81 atoms, and measure its spatial correlations. In 1D,
we are able to extract the CFT sigma field scaling dimension of
0.127(37) by introducing a phenomenological length scale associated
with decoherence. In 2D, we extract a scaling dimension of 0.59(9);
however, open boundary conditions complicate the reliable extraction
of a scaling dimension. In addition, the boundary phase transition
supports several distinct universality classes with different critical
behavior. In particular, we observe two of these classes: one where
the boundary orders with the bulk and one where the boundary orders
before the bulk. If time permits, progress towards a dual species
optical tweezer array of Na and Cs atoms will be discussed.