Quantum spin models

$Proposed experimental setup for simulating quantum spin models in atomic ensembles confined in a microtrap array. Two spin states $| \,\downarrow \,\rangle $ and $| \,\uparrow \,\rangle $ are encoded in a single two-step excitation to the Rydberg state $| {n}_{\downarrow }S\rangle $ or $| {n}_{\uparrow }S\rangle $, shared amongst all atoms in an ensemble. The spatial extent of each ensemble is ℓ, the on-site blockade radius is rc and the lattice spacing is a, with $a\gtrsim {r}_{c}\gg {\ell }$. The inset shows the internal level structure of a single atom with the states involved in the detection processes marked with dashed lines. General spin–spin interactions occur via long-range van der Waals interactions between the $| {n}_{\downarrow }S\rangle $ and $| {n}_{\uparrow }S\rangle $ states.$

Image of the Week: simulating quantum spin models in microtraps

By Thomas Farrell on April 18, 2017

A new way of simulating lattice spin models using ultracold Rydberg atoms

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Quantum spin models

Image of the Week: simulating quantum spin models in microtraps