Quantum Slush State in Rydberg Atom Arrays

In this Letter, we propose an exotic quantum state that does not order at zero temperature in a Rydberg atom array with antiblockade mechanism. By performing an unbiased large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulation, we investigate a minimal model with facilitated excitation in a disorder-free system. At zero temperature, this model exhibits a heterogeneous structure of liquid and glass mixture. This state, dubbed quantum slush state, features a quasi-long-range order with an algebraic decay for its correlation function, and is different from most well-established quantum phases of matter.Received 30 January 2024Revised 26 March 2024Accepted 25 April 2024DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.206503© 2024 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasExotic phases of matterQuantum phase transitionsPhysical SystemsQuantum many-body systemsRydberg atoms & moleculesTechniquesKinetically constrained modelsQuantum Monte CarloCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics