Prediction of Toric Code Topological Order from Rydberg Blockade

By R. Verresen, Mikhail D. Lukin, Ashvin Vishwanath. Physical Review X, 2020

169 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The physical realization of $\mathbb Z_2$ topological order as encountered in the paradigmatic toric code has proven to be an elusive goal. We show that this phase of matter can be created in a two-dimensional array of strongly interacting Rydberg atoms. Our proposal makes use of atoms localized on the sites of a ruby lattice, coupled via a Rydberg blockade mechanism. First, we show that the blockade model effectively realizes a monomer-dimer model on the kagome lattice with a single-site kinetic term, and we obtain its phase diagram using the numerical density matrix renormalization group method. We find a topological quantum liquid (TQL) as evidenced by multiple measures including (i) a continuous transition between two featureless phases, (ii) a topological entanglement entropy of $\ln 2$ as measured in various geometries, (iii) degenerate topological ground states and (iv) the expected modular matrix from ground state overlap. Next, we show that the TQL can persist upon including realistic, algebraically-decaying van der Waals interactions $V(r) \sim 1/r^6$. Moreover, we can directly access the topological loop operators of this model, which can be measured experimentally using a dynamic protocol, providing a "smoking gun" experimental signature of the TQL phase. Finally, we show how to trap an emergent anyon and realize different topological boundary conditions, and we discuss the implications for exploring fault-tolerant quantum memories.

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Condensed Matter Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5779015576d23ad9b2947550014f7f294eb4835d

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

1. Yimu Bao
2. Ruihua Fan
3. Ashvin Vishwanath
4. E. Altman
5. A. Nahum
6. Matthew Fisher
7. V. Khemani
8. T. Senthil

In Condensed Matter Physics

1. Ashvin Vishwanath
2. E. Altman
3. S. Sachdev

Citations in the corpus

• Diagnostics of Mixed-State Topological Order and Breakdown of Quantum Memory (2023, background): “This phenomenon has also appeared in the numerical study of the topological entanglement entropy across transitions [13].”